New homes and old. (Chapter 3 of Samuel's story)

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Tagged (angst, occasional strong language and mild violence) 
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When we last left a certain pair of canines, our young beagle had discovered that his life might actually be taking a well deserved turn for the better. What with him having a new job and place to live, that included regular meals, not to mention a new found boost to his self esteem as his Dingo boss kept relying on him for information.  Kuenia for his part had also learnt that this new city he had moved to, wasn't as cold and soulless as he had originally thought. After Samuel had introduced him to many wonderful furs, who really seemed to care for the pup.

Now let us return to the middle of a crowded city square...

Samuel's Pick-Pocketing Surprise 
Chapter 3 - New Homes and Old

The two canines had set off once more, walking in silence for a minute or two. Samuel noticing where they seemed to be headed ask kuenia "Are we going back to Shelly's restaurant?"

"I thought it was Mr Clyde's restaurant?" Kuenia answer deliberately choosing to misunderstand the question. Poking out his tongue Samuel said "Yeah, Yeah, very funny."

Becoming serious again Kuenia said "Yes we are heading back to the restaurant, don't you remember, Shelly said she would ask Mr clyde about buying a suit from me.  So I just want to find out if he was interested or not before we go home.

"Home..." Samuel mumbled rolling the word around in his mouth. The small corner of the basement he had been living in was comfortable and out of the weather, but as Percy had once pointed out there was no guarantee just how long he could stay, especially if the professor ever found out he was sleeping there. So it would be nice to have a real home again, like when his parents were alive.

Then getting his thoughts back in order Samuel realised Kuenia was intending to possibly meet up with Mr Clyde.  "Um... Kuenia, it's probably better I'm not seen with you for now. Mr Clyde and I are not on very good terms at the moment, I sorta ate some food he had out acclimatising to room temperature. I thought it was going to be chucked out, it tasted like it was going off, but it was for some rich porcine's birthday party, tough balls or something he called the stuff. Anyway he said "if he caught me in the restaurant again, he would drag me off to the law enforcers." and then there was the time..."  

"Ok! I get the point." Kuenia said chuckling and cutting the pup off mid sentence. "Mind you, we will have to change that situation in the near future. One question though, why did we eat breakfast there if your concerned about running into Mr Clyde?"

"That's easy, Mr Clyde never comes into the restaurant before noon, and the food there is really nice, well apart from those tuffballs" Samuel explained. 

"Fair enough, oh and I think you mean truffles. I don't like them much either, but they can be quite expensive since they don't grow around here and Mr Clyde would have needed to ship them in from down south."

"Well I guess that explains why he was so mad." samuel said thoughtfully.

"Now do you want to wait out here? Actually no scratch that. Was there anything you wanted to get from where you were living to take back to the shop tonight?" Kuenia queried as the two canines arrived outside the restaurant.

Samuel felt torn, it was a big step taking all his worldly belongings to Kuenia's apartment behind the shop, but he really didn't want to leave his few belongings especially his box of keepsakes in the old basement unattended for more than a few hours for fear they would be found by somebody. 

Kuenia pulled a set of keys out of his pocket and held them out to the beagle saying "Here, the big silver one unlocks the front door." Kuenia was aware that he was taking a risk giving this street pup free access to the shop, his apartment and its contents but in the short time he had known Samuel the young canine had earned a certain amount of respect with the ethics he had shown, pick-pocketing aside and he only did that to get food to live on as best as the dingo could tell. Besides there was little in the shop worth stealing apart from some bolts of fabric he had brought with him from his old shop in the country and a few odds and ends that would be of little interest to others.  

Samuel stared at the keys for a second, was he really going to do this. 
"YES!" he said to himself Kuenia was not just holding out a set of keys but the start of his new life with the dingo. 

The fact that the older male trusted him enough to hand over the keys to his home, was not lost on the pup as he reached out taking the small bunch of tiny shaped metal shafts from Kuenia.  "Thank you Kuenia I'll take good care of them." Samuel reassured as he shoved the keys into his pocket.

"You better, or we'll both be sleeping on the streets tonight." Kuenia said with a wink and smiling. 

"Will you need these?" Samuel asked, pulling out the sample fabric squares, which he had discovered were still in his pocket when he put the keys away. 

"Oh, yes I will, I forgot you still had them. That could have been quite embarrassing if Mr Clyde wants something made up and needed to see them." Kuenia confessed. 

Just as Kuenia finished speaking, Shelly who had spotted the pair, stepped out the front door of the restaurant calling "Kuenia, Sammy." the two canines raised a paw in greeting as the Bilby covered the few steps to reach them.

"Kuenia, Mr Clyde had to pop out, but will be back shortly if you want to wait.  He seemed fairly eager to talk with you, so fingers crossed he will buy something." shelly announced happily.

"Thanks shelly, I will wait, but Samuel is going to move some of his stuff from his old home to the apartment behind my shop."

Shelly just nodded her head saying "Cool, Kuenia did you want to wait inside?"

"Yes thank you my dear." Kuenia said with a slight bow.

"See ya Sam." Shelly said as she waved an arm for Kuenia to come with her, like she was leading him to a table in the restaurant.

"Later shelly" came Samuel's reply as Kuenia said "I'll meet you back here when your done, ok Samuel?"

"Ok Kuenia." Samuel confirmed. 

Then putting an arm around shelly Kuenia accompanied  the young Bilby back into the restaurant saying "I found some little glass perl buttons at Geena's today that would be perfect for your red dress on the straps or around the slit for your tale depending on the exact style your after." the restaurant door closing behind them before samuel had a chance to hear the Bilby's response, but the beagle thought she would be pleased.

Samuel turned, heading for the small alley he had spotted Kuenia from this morning, although to the young pup it felt almost like a life time ago now. As the beagle pup walked his thoughts finally had a chance to catch up with him flooding through his brain like a tidal wave.  Here he was following the same path he had followed everyday now for almost as long as he could remember winding his way through the small side streets and alleyways.
Was this all a dream, maybe he had just fallen and hit his head and he would wake up soon. Unconsciously he put a paw to his head to see if it was sporting any monstrously huge lumps. When he realised what he was doing Samuel removed his paw from his head laughing at himself, yes this was all to good to be true but it really was happening as he stared down at his cool new orange sneakers.

"Hey Smell-u-el, where'd you get the shoes?" a voice called out from the shadows of a doorway rudely interrupting samuel's thoughts as he past by.

"Nun-ya business Cuddles!" samuel spat back as he spun round to face the grubby off white coloured fleece of the teenaged ram. 

"Don't call me CUDDLES!" Carl said through clenched teeth as he started heading with a determined stride towards the beagle.  Samuel standing his ground said sarcastically. "Oh, but why not, you look so cute and cuddly."

Samuel couldn't believe he had just said that. What had come over him, Carl could easily pound him into the ground as soon as look at him, and the only advantage Samuel had was he could run much faster than the marino rapidly closing on him. It was like he gained a new found confidence in the last few hours. However all that would be useless if the Ram got within striking range. 

"Oh, leave the pup alone!" a voice floated down from an upstairs window.

Carl stopped, turning and looked up at his older sister, "and why should I?" he enquired fiercely.

"Hi Sam." Kim called down temporarily ignoring her brothers question

"Hi Kim." Samuel called back waving a paw at the pristine white fleece covered older ewe. 

Turning her attention back to her brother she said "Coz if you don't leave him alone, I will tell mum about those yiffy pictures, you keep under your mattress."

"Fine!" Carl said grudgingly, before continuing in a threatening tone speaking only loud enough for Samuel to hear "This isn't over squirt you'll keep." then stormed off back inside the apartment building.  

"Thanks Kim, I owe you one." Samuel called up to the pretty female who reminded him of a soft fluffy cloud the way her wool decorated her body.

"Don't worry about it, Carl's been a real jerk, ever since his balls started growing. Mum reckons it's just a stage all rams his age go through. I wish he would just grow up already."  

Samuel laughed at this having spotted the large well filled out way the ram's pants had looked. His brain filing the information away as a possible weakness to go for should it come to it during the impending confrontation eluded to a minute ago. 

Then a thought came to Samuel of a possible way he could show his thanks to Kim and prove to Kuenia he was doing his job, "Kim, I just started working for a new tailor on crofts street in Riverside. If you ever want anything special made up Kuenia does really good work and if you tell him your a friend of mine he will give you a discount."  

"Thanks Sam, I'll keep that in mind. Hey maybe you should get your boss to make you some new clothes, those ones seem a bit tatty..." Kim trailed off covering her muzzle, suddenly realising just what she had said "Oh I am really sorry Samuel, that sounded dreadfully rude."

"It's ok Kim, I'm sure he will make me something to wear soon, he has already bought me these new shoes." Samuel called back, but Kim could see from the expression on the young beagles face that her comment had really stung the pup deeply. "Yes, I see, they are very nice shoes Sam" Kim continued desperately trying to undo her little foe-par. 

"Well, I better be going... Bye Kim" Samuel said as he started his journey back to his old home  

"Bye Sam." Kim called after him as the pup walked off, kicking herself for the stupid blunder she had just made. Kim's family weren't rich but they got by, and here she was insulting this poor street pup, and his new boss for that matter by calling his clothes tatty. She knew Samuel didn't have much in the way of worldly belongings. Kim then vowed to herself that she would go and visit samuel at the tailor shop tomorrow and give him some blueberry muffins to help properly apologise, as she headed off to the families kitchen to start making the muffins.

Samuel rounding the corner out of site of Kim and Carl's family home, stopped and looked down at his clothes. Samuel knew Kim meant nothing by her comment, but she was right. His clothes really were shabby and embarrassing when he was supposed to be representing a great tailor like Kuenia. Samuel would have to ask Kuenia about getting some nicer clothes. The dingo had given him so much already he wasn't sure it would be right to ask for more. However it was now obvious to him that his current appearance would make it harder to promote Kuenia's business, and if he couldn't help bring in customers the older canine might change his mind about hiring him.

With his head down, Samuel let his paws carry him onward once more to the all to familiar destination of his old home.  As he walked he was striving to work out in his mind the best way to ask Kuenia about getting some more appropriate clothes. When with a thud, he walked straight into Gus, his head slamming right into the large horse's arse, causing the big black balls of the Chestnut stallion to sway violently inside the baggy blue shorts the equine was wearing before the huge orbs swung back to hit the pup on the nose.

Samuel took a step back saying instinctively "Sorry Mr... Oh, it's you Gus,  I didn't see you there."

Gus, turning to look at the pup grinned broadly raising an eyebrow. "And I thought I was the one needing glasses." the equine who was almost three times the beagles size said with a hearty laugh.  Then tapping the beagle on the nose he continued "I thought you canines were supposed to have a good sense of smell, didn't your nose tell you I was there, or were you just trying to shove your head up my bum." 

Samuel started to blush slightly under his fur at the suggestion and a most emphatic "No!" escaped from his mouth, it was well known in the neighbourhood that Gus preferred the company of other males and he would happily lift his tail for any fur wanting to scratch an itch. Or at least that was how Gus had put it when Samuel had once asked him why a large canine was shoving his dick into the horses tail hole. "He's just scratching an itch I have inside me back there." In response as to why the dog was using his penis to scratch the itch Gus had simply replied that "Using any other part of the canines body, which was covered in fur would just make him itchier." This at the time actually seemed to sorta make sense. However as he got older and learnt more about certain things samuel discovered that not all males want to mate with females and that was how two males mated with each other.  

Gus seeing Samuel's shocked expression laughed even harder "So what's on your mind youngster that your walking around with your eyes and nose shut?"

"I have to ask my boss a question and..." Samuel started.

"Woe, hang on there a second, when did you get a job?" Gus asked with surprise, the old stallion had seen Samuel most days ever since the pup had started living on the street and they had become good friends and this was the first he was hearing of the young beagle having a job.

"I met Kuenia, my new boss this morning and he has hired me as his delivery pup, you should meet him Gus. He's really nice he brought me breakfast, and these new shoes, and he has invited me to come and live in the house behind his shop, and..." Samuel blurted out in a rapid torrent.

Alarm bells started going off in Gus's head, as samuel was talking the equine started to wonder what else besides deliveries this Kuenia might have in mind for this young pup.

"He sounds really nice, but why is he being so generous?" Gus enquired.

"He's new in town and needs someone to help him get set up. He just seems to be really kind not only to me but to everyone else too!" Samuel said in way of an answer, but the truth was he really had no idea why Kuenia was being so generous beyond the fact that he was being nice. 

"Ok, that's good, but if he ever asks you to do something you really don't want to do or you think is wrong. You just let me know, and I will have a talk to him for you." Gus said torn between being happy for the pup if this Kuenia was genuine, but also still a little worried that it also sounded like the pup was being groomed for something rather more seedy; in which case he wanted to protect the youngster he now thought of as like a son to him.

"Ok..." Samuel said not really sure what his old friend was getting at "but I don't think he would ask me to do anything wrong, he's to straight laced to do anything dodgy." 

"Glad to hear it."Gus said still not convinced but deciding to take things at face value for now. However he still couldn't help adding "   But if you ever need me, you know where to find me."

"Thanks Gus" Samuel said smiling up at the older equine.

"Now what is this great dilemma over a question for your boss?" Gus asked returning Samuel to the problem that had caused him to crash into the stallion in the first place. 

"Kuenia is this great master tailor, and he wants me to find him new clients and deliver things for him but look at my clothes. How can I represent him properly if I look like something that should be lying in the gutter. Yet I feel bad asking him for new clothes when he has already given me so much... What if he decides I'm not worth it." Samuel concluded sounding very dejected.

Gus squatted down pulling the pup into a hug. "If he doesn't think you are worth it, he's not worth worrying about, you Samuel are a very special canine and don't you ever forget it. However from what you have told me, I suspect you are getting yourself wound up for nothing. It doesn't sound like Kuenia would give you the boot just for asking for something decent to wear, he is a tailor after all." then he added with a lopsided smile besides looking like something you would find in a gutter is not necessarily a bad thing. I myself can occasionally be found in a nice cool gutter on a hot summer's night."

Samuel smiled back at the stallion saying "Thanks Gus that makes me feel a little better, but I'm still not happy having to ask kuenia for new clothes just the same."

"I suspect Kuenia would much prefer to have you out there representing him wearing something he has made as opposed to wearing something one of his competitors has made." Gus pointed out conspiratorially. 

"Oh yeah, I never thought about it that way." Samuel said his mood improving noticeably at this revelation, that Kuenia might actually want him to be wearing clothes the Dingo had made himself. Then thinking back to the conversation he had with Kuenia over breakfast and what the Dingo had said about his own suit being used to show off his craftsdogship which helped to sell his garments. The young beagle was now certain that Gus was right.

"Your a genius Gus" Samuel said smiling from one large floppy ear flap to the other.

"Naturally!" Gus replied as if it should have been obvious all along.

"Thanks Gus, I've gotta go, I need to take my stuff around to Kuenia's house before meeting him back at Shelly's restaurant." and with that the pup started trotting off down the street, tail wagging contentedly behind him as he went. 

"Your welcome Samuel, look after yourself and remember if you need me, I'll be here." Gus called after the young pup. Thinking to himself "Ah, to be that young again." as he watched the cute beagle turn into the alleyway and disappear from site.

Coming to a stop beside an old staircase Samuel carefully looked around to check that he was alone, just as he always did; before moving a box under the staircase to one side. Turning and crouching down he crawled backwards under the stairs and through the small window that had been hidden behind the box. The pup's tail helping to hold the window out of the way as his sneaker clad paws tentatively felt for the large crate, just below the window in the buildings basement; which had served him well as his home for the last few years. Gaining a good perch on the large crate he was now standing on, Samuel pulled the box back into place in front of the window to once more conceal the entrance from the casual observation of furs passing by on the street. Pulling his head and arms in through the window the young beagle closed the glass carefully behind him. 

Samuel took a second to glance around the oh so familiar room, with it's rows of large wooden crates that contained a bunch of big rocks and numerous bottles full of dirt and fossilised bones. His mind drifted back to the day he had found this place and he had met Percy, Gus, Harry and the Professor.

The seven year old beagle pup stood there shivering slightly as a cold wind blew down the street. It had been only a day since he had run away from the orphanage, if that's what you could call the place. It was little more than a work house for homeless pups like himself. His parents had died barely a month ago and the beagle missed them with all his heart. After their death a fox Tod and a rabat doe had taken him from his home and looked after him for a few days, at the time Samuel thought they seemed nice enough but now he hated them vehemently. After the pair had discovered  he had no inheritance to speak of, their attitude towards him had changed radically. They had dumped him in the orphanage with only the clothes on his back and the small wooden box of keepsakes they had let him take from the family home in the beginning while they were still being nice to him.

Hugging the small wooden box to his chest Samuel watched on as a brown bull and a Bay stallion were struggling to lift an extremely large wooden crate from the back of a cart. They were being supervised by a sable German shepherd the stallion referred to as the professor saying "Hey professor keep your fur on, these things are heavy you know." The Professor for his part ignored the comment as he continued to give them directions in a less than complimentary fashion, as the two large furs struggled to carry the humungous crate from their cart into the building across the street from the pup. A loud crash resounded from a window in the buildings basement shortly followed by the German Shepherd cursing up a storm at the top of his voice and using some words samuel had never even heard of before, but he was sure they must be rude.  Curious Samuel padded over to the small window located under an old staircase on the side of the building to peek inside.

"I don't know why I hired you two buffoons to ship this stuff, it's traveled half way around the world in these crates intact and you morons can't even carry it down a flight of stairs without breaking the things open." The shepherd was screaming at the two larger furs.

"Take it easy professor look only the outside crate is damaged everything inside is fine. Let me go and gets some tools and I'll have it fixed up good as new. Ok?" the large stallion said trying his best to appease the canine.

"Oh! Very well! But I better be satisfied that my artefacts are securely held in place when your done; or I'll take it out of your payment, is that understood. the professor said sternly although it was obvious that he was calming down a little now that the contents of the crate appeared to be unharmed.

"Harry if you drop me off at my place I'll grab my tools and some extra wood and walk back here. Then if you and the Professor stop by Baker Street on your way back to the ship, you can see if Gus is free to help us get these heavy things down those flaming stairs. He's usually eager to make a few coins."

"Sounds good to me Percy" the bull replied to the stallion before adding "That's if, that's ok with you Professor Von Freed."

"Yes, Yes!" the German shepherd replied now noticeably more composed "I'm sorry for flying off the handle boys, but I have spent more than 10 years excavating these fossils and they are irreplaceable.

Samuel quickly pulled his head back from the window when the three furs briefly looked in his direction as they turned around and headed for the stairs. A moment later the young pup observed them lock the front door and climb back onto the cart the large crate had arrived upon, before the trio headed off down the street.

The beagle had heard about fossils like dinosaur bones in school and found himself intrigued to get a closer look at the crate's contents some of which was currently sticking out of a large whole where the huge box had unceremoniously hit the floor minutes earlier.

Looking in the window again he could see various sized crates scattered around the room, including a row that ran along the wall below the window.
Samuel pushed on the window, which stubbornly refused to budge.  "Locked" Samuel thought to himself and was about to give up looking at the fossils when the window creaked a little and began to move. In no time the young pup had opened the window wide enough for him to climb through and scramble down onto the crate below the window.  Reaching back through the opening he grabbed his small keep sake box and pulled it inside with him.  Now he was inside the room, it looked much bigger with even more crates than he had been able to see from outside. Samuel climbed down off the crate he was standing on and headed over to the large broken wooden crate near the bottom of the stairs leading up to the floor above him.  Carefully placing his keep sake box on the ground Samuel started looking at the large pieces of rock in the broken crate that appeared to have skeletons of small animals imbedded in the flat pieces of stone. 

Remembering what the Professor had said to the two other furs about how valuable these fossils were Samuel ever so gently moved the pieces of stone that he could lift and laid them on the ground so he could better see some of the others still deep inside the ruptured shipping crate. Soon however the beagle found that he couldn't see the rest of the large boxes content without moving some of the bigger pieces of stone and he couldn't lift those; so with his curiosity somewhat satiated the pup started looking around the room at some of the other crates trying to peer through any cracks in their sides to see if he could see what mysteries or secrets they might contain.

As he was looking around Samuel realised he had stopped shivering, the temperature inside the building didn't seem much warmer than it had been outside, but he was out of that icy wind that was chilling him to the bone.  The young canine suddenly heard a loud creak come from the staircase, someone was starting to slowly and carefully descend the stairs. Samuel in a panic, not knowing how someone might respond to him being down here; quickly slipped into a narrow gap, behind the row of crates on the back wall.

Percy was trying his best to negotiate the steep staircase while caring several long planks of wood and a bag of tools slung on his shoulder. He thought for a second, he had seen something move out of the corner of his eye. The large muscle bound Bay stallion, had pretty much dismissed it as just his imagination, until he reached the bottom of the stairs and a most curious sight. There on the floor right next to the crate he had come to repair, was a small wooden box sitting beside a neatly stacked pile of the professors fossils.

"Well now, that is very helpful." Percy said in a slightly raised voice "Now I don't have to empty these out of the crate before I fix it." Percy reasoned that he hadn't been away for more than 20 minutes so chances were, the owner of the small wooden box couldn't be far away. Following his hunch Percy spoke slowly and in a loud clear voice "Hello, I know your in here, please come out."

Percy glanced around for any sign of movement, but there was none. Maybe he had been wrong. Percy picked up the small wooden box and opened it, based on the contents this box looked to be important to someone, ant that someone was most likely quite young probably the puppy in the photograph with the two older canines.

"Well, if there's no one here, they wont mind if I take this box then will they. Mind you, I would really rather just give it back to it's owner and thank them for helping clean up the mess I made."

Samuel was torn, the Stallion sounded friendly enough, but what if he took him back to the orphanage or called the enforcers. If he didn't come out though the stallion might take his box away somewhere and he couldn't bare to loose what little he had left of his parents after their deaths.

The decision was made for him though as Percy's head poked around the end of the row of crates and he said "Oh, there you are!" Percy was quite please with himself as it was clear the young canine crouched in front of him looking a little scared and rather grubby was without doubt the same dog as in the family photo from the wooden box.  Hoping a gesture of good will might help make the young Beagle relax percy extended his arm passing the box toward Samuel saying "I believe this is yours, young one."

Samuel gratefully took the box from the towering equine's grasp saying quietly "Thank you, Sir."

"Sir! now that's something I don't get called very often. My name isÉ" 

"Percy." Samuel said finishing the horse's sentence.

"Wow, how did you know that?" Percy exclaimed although already suspecting the answer"

"Hey let me give it a try, you are Fred!"

Samuel shook his head.

"Tom, Richard, Bruce, yeah Bruce, definitely Bruce." Percy state confidently causing the pup to laugh saying "No, I'm Samuel and I heard you talking to the professor and Harry earlier. 

"So do you know the professor then?" Percy enquired although he already knew the answer.

"No, I just heard you furs talking and I wanted to look at the fossils.
Please don't call the enforcers.  I'll go now." Samuel pleaded earnestly. 

"Hey slow down pup, nobody's calling the enforcers, as far as I can tell you haven't really done anything wrong. You didn't break anything, unlike someone else in the room. In fact you appear to have treated the professors stuff with a great deal of care." Samuel was noticeably relieved by the equines words even smiling slightly at Percy's insinuation regarding the broken crate.

"So how did you get in here anyway? The door was locked and that old window is rusted shut." Percy said glancing up at the window on the side wall, which was now opened slightly. Before continuing with no small amount of surprise in his voice "Well, I'll be a Donkey's uncle! Did you get that window open all by yourself?"  

Samuel just nodded shyly.

"Wow, what a strong pup. You must be hiding some big muscles up those shirt sleeves or something. Harry was trying to get it to budge for 10 minutes yesterday and didn't even get the thing to move at all." Percy said smiling at the young pup.

"I think he must have loosened it a bit, I'm really not that strong" Samuel replied quietly, but happy to receive the complement none the less.

"It is possible, but it was you who got it open, not that brash bull who is always going on about how strong he is and believe you me, I will be teasing him about this for ages.  Ah yes, a young Beagle managing to do something that mister muscles couldn't do." Percy said laughing heartily. 

"However now we have a little problem, we need to get that thing closed again before we leave today, or the weather might get in and wreck the professors stuff. Not to mention the prof would freak out if he thought people could get in through that thing." Samuel looked mortified at the Stallions words. "I'm sorry Percy I didn't mean to cause a problem for anyone."

"Nonsense, now you've got the window open I can get some oil on the hinges and it'll be as good as new in no time.  Hey I could use your help though." Percy said doing his best to reassure the pup.

"What could I do?" Samuel replied thinking he knew nothing about fixing anything. "I'm just a little pup."

"Precisely, I'm to big and heavy to risk climbing on those crates to get up there and it would be better if there was someone on the inside and outside to jiggle that window to help the oil get into the rusty parts of the hinges." Percy said with a wink.

A few short minutes later the two males had the window moving so smoothly it didn't even squeak.

"Great job Samuel, would you like to help me fix the crate as well?"  Percy asked smiling at the Beagle.

However before Samuel had a chance to reply a voice drifted down the stairs to where the canine and equine were standing "That'd be right, palming your work off onto someone else again Percy?"

"I learnt from the best Harry" Percy replied to the bull as Harry, Gus and the Professor emerged into the room. 

"Now who do we have here then." Harry exclaimed not expecting to see a small pup to be helping Percy.

"This Harry, is Samuel the strongest Beagle in the world, who also happens to love looking at interesting fossils." Percy replied Jovially "Not only did he open that window up there so I could fix it, but he also has very carefully began to unpack this crate so I can repair it."

Harry opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by the Professor "Well I hope you were very very careful Samuel, these things aren't toys you know."

"Yes Sir." Samuel said quietly hoping the professor wasn't mad about him looking at the fossils.

"Good, Good" The Shepherd said looking over the small fossils neatly laid out on the floor next to the broken crate. "So Samuel would you like to see some more artefacts"

"If by artefacts you mean the old bone stuff and you don't mind Professor, Sir, I would like that." Samuel said brightly, only to happy that the professor wasn't mad at him and he would get to see more of the interesting things.

The professor chuckled "Yes, I meant this old bone stuff, you can help me unpack the rest of this crate and check everything for damage before it gets put back away once the crate is fixed." Then gesturing towards the other three adults "As for you over grown foals and calf, I would like you to bring the crate we just brought back from the ship down here and then retrieve the remaining crates from the ship before the weather gets any worse. Us canines have some grown up work to do."

"Sure thing Professor, we'll take care of that right away." Percy said heading with Gus and Harry up the stairs to carry out the professors wishes. 

Before Samuel knew it several hours had passed, the professor was actually really friendly which had surprised Samuel a bit; given how he had been yelling and cursing at Percy and Harry when he had first seen them. Apparently Samuel reminded the professor a lot of his own son Bastion when he was young. Bastion was now off exploring prospective places to look for fossils and reporting back to his father whenever he found a good site for a dig. 

"Well Professor, that's the last crate down here safe and sound. It's getting late I'll be back first thing in the morning to get that crate repaired for you and pick up the payment."

"Percy, I know it's been a long day, but I would really appreciate it if you could finish fixing the crate tonight. I need to get these things packed away again and be back at sea, as soon as possible in the morning. Bastion has found something I just have to go and see!"

"No worries Professor. Gus and Harry you might as well head off I'll be right with this crate  by myself." Percy replied with a slight sigh. 

"Boys can I get a ride back to the ship on your way home please." The German shepherd asked as he started to follow Gus and Harry up the stairs.

"No worries Professor." Harry answered and then stopped, turning he called back down to the room below "Samuel did you want us to drop you off back home as well?"

"UmmmÉ" Samuel started but was cut off by Percy saying "It's ok Harry I'll see him home  safely in a little bit, the repairs shouldn't take that long." 

"No worries, see you tomorrow." Harry called back, as everyone said their fair wells to Percy and Samuel. 

Percy returned to his repairs for a minute until he was sure the others had left. Then asked without looking up from what he was doing "Samuel, do you have somewhere dry to sleep tonight?"

Samuel didn't respond unsure of what to say, Percy seemed nice but he was still worried he might take him back to the orphanage.

Percy looked up from his work, the pup's silence only confirmed what he had thought, that the pup was homeless. "It's ok pup, you don't have to answer, I can see just how important that box you have is to you.  It is not something you would be carrying around if you had somewhere safe to keep it."

Samuel's heart almost stopped at the words, mystified at how the large equine had been able to know so much without him saying anything.

"So if you like, you can sleep here tonight. There's plenty of straw packing in this crate, to spare enough to make a bed for a pup your size; behind those crates you were hiding behind earlier."

Samuel didn't know what to say, but he didn't want to spend another night on the street freezing like he did last night after running away from the orphanage. Eventually he just said very quietly "Thank you, Percy I would like that."  

if the Professor gets down here before me in the morning, stay hidden behind those crates till I get here. Then I will distract the old dog while you come out so it looks like you had arrived with me, ok?

"Ok, Percy." Samuel said meekly "So do you think the professor would be upset if he knew I had slept here then?"

"I don't know Samuel. I mean you did make quite a good impression on that old shepherd, but you know from earlier just how protective he can be over these old bones." 

Percy then laughed at what he had just said muttering to himself more than Samuel "He's like a dog with his bones for sure."

Percy then grabbed an arm full of straw from the pile sitting beside the now empty broken crate that he was fixing. "Here samuel take this behind those crates and lay it out in a pile on the floor. Let me know if you have enough for you to be comfortable."

Samuel gratefully took the straw from the equine and did as he was instructed. Lying down on the fibrous mat he had made, Samuel found the straw was much warmer than the very cold stone floor of the basement. It was not quite as comfortable as his old bed from home, but surprisingly it felt no worse than the lumpy mattress he had been laying on at the orphanage.

Percy poking his head around the end of the crates enquired "Comfy down there my pup?" 

"Yes, thank you Percy it is fine."

"Good! You can have this as well" Percy said smiling and throwing a grey blanket that had numerous holes covering it surface. "It's just an old blanket we wrap stuff in when moving things for other furs but I suspect anything will be better than nothing to keep you warm tonight." 

Samuel again found himself thanking the large stallion for his thoughtfulness as he spread the blanket out over his new straw bed.

"Now come back out here again Samuel, you can hold the wood while I nail the new planks onto the crate."  As the two males worked Percy explained a few things to the young Beagle.

"The Professor is usually away for months at a time, so he pays me to keep an eye on the place while he's gone, So after he sets sail again in the morning you should be right to sleep here for a couple of months at least." Percy said before pounding several large nails into the heavy wood of the crate.

"Now hold that piece of wood right there Samuel" Percy instructed before continuing in a very serious tone "However there are some rules that you absolutely must follow if you want to stay here."

"Ok" Samuel replied, hoping the rules wouldn't be anything to horrible.

"Right then: So for now, don't let the Professor know I am letting you sleep in here, I will talk to him about it when he gets back after you have proven to me you can follow the rules.
You must never light a fire down here, some of these crates and there contents must be kept cool and dry at all times. 
Don't bring anyone else down here. I'll make you a little crate out of these broken bits to sit in front of the window, that way we can leave that window unlocked for you to come in and  out through. Also try to never let anyone see you come in the window.  You have shown you can be respectful of the professor's stuff, but if someone else gets in here they might wreck things and I'm the one that old German Shepherd will bite the head off if anything ever happens down here."

Samuel was starting to realise just how much faith the large equine was putting in him by letting him stay in this basement room with all the professors stuff.

"Hold that a bit further back Samuel, I don't want to risk hitting your paw with the hammer for this last bit in the corner.  Now obviously don't go to the toilet anywhere down here or the whole place will stink."

"I would never just go on the floor Percy!" Samuel said a little indignantly.

"Glad to hear it pup." Percy said with a smile "There is one last thing, if you have food such as, I don't know. Lets say that sandwich sitting in that paper bag over there." Percy gestured with a wave of the hammer in the direction his deliberately uneaten lunch was sitting in. "Anyway if you have food down here, make sure you don't leave even so much as a crumb on the floor, that might attract rodents or insects that could get into the crates and damage the professors stuff."

Percy smashed in the last nail with a single blow from the forcefully swung hammer, before the muscular equine stood up and started piling his tools back into his tool bag again. "So is all that clear Samuel, or do you want me to explain anything again?"

Samuel nodded his head saying sincerely "I will try not to do anything that will make the professor mad with you or force you to make me leave." 

"Very good Samuel, I will see you in the morning." Percy said as he picked up his tools and headed for the stairs. 

"Percy you forgot your Sandwich." Samuel said in two minds, as to whether to say anything or not. The young Beagle was really hungry and wanted so badly to eat the food himself. However he didn't want to risk Percy being upset with him for eating the horses sandwich, now he seemed to have somewhere out of the weather to sleep. 

"Samuel, I thought you said you understood the rules, now I don't want to find a crumb left of that sandwich on the floor when I get back here in the morning." Percy said without looking back as he started climbing the stairs out of the basement.

"Not a crumb." Samuel called back diving at the sandwich as he suddenly realised that the kind stallion had deliberately left the food for him to eat.

Samuel's thoughts returned to the present with a touch of melancholy, "If all goes well, this could be the last time I come down here." the pup thought to himself as he Jumped down from the crate he had been standing on.

He headed back behind a row of crates on the back wall to where his bed lay; the pile of straw with its' old blanket that was full of holes, had served him well since his first night in the basement. Despite the modest appearance the bed was surprisingly warm when the temperature dropped in winter; A more recent addition to his make shift bed was a feather pillow.  Gus had made him the pillow from a sack which the horse had filled with duck feathers, from a job the stallion had briefly at the meat works on the docks.

Scooping up the straw just behind his pillow on the floor, Samuel was happy to see the small wooden box with his name scratched in the top exactly where he had left it.  Opening the lid samuel checked all the contents as he did every time he had been away from his basement home.

Everything seemed to be safely inside as usual, as he mentally checked them all off one by one: A battered old metal bowl, a blue button in an old match box from a shirt his Mum had made him when he was 4 years old, a slightly torn photo of his family before his Mum and Dad died. a blue and red rubber ball that his parents gave him for Christmas, a small piece of mirror he had found on the street, a pine cone he and his father had found when walking one day and of course the small wooden box itself, which his father had made for Samuel to keep his coloured pencils in when the pup was six. His pencils were all gone now, the pup had been colouring on the floor of his family home the day his parents had died. They were just popping out to the city square to buy some food and would only be a few minutes, However Samuel would never see them alive again. Samuel wiped a tear from his eye at the memory. Due to the horrific events of that day samuel never got around to putting his pencils back in the box and the Fox and Rabbit had sold them along with everything else. At least he still had the other things in the box kept safe from being accidentally lost.

Samuels mind once more drifted back to how he had almost lost this precious box and it's contents when it had been confiscated by the staff at the orphanage.

The furs who ran the "Caring Cub Orphanage" weren't cruel as such they just didn't "care" about any of the orphans, an irony that wasn't lost on Samuel. However any amusement that he had from the thought was quickly replaced by loathing for the staff. His days were all the same, before dawn all the orphans were woken up and marched off to breakfast. They were given ten minutes to eat, then marched to the building next door where they would work for six hours making various intricate items that little paws could produce more easily than an adult's much larger paws. Lunch was a twenty minute break including the travel time between the factory and the orphanage. Then it was back to work for another seven hours then tea and baths prior to finally going back to bed, before it started all over again.

The orphans were permitted to stop work and get a drink of water or use the toilet when they needed to as long as they didn't take to long about it. One measure the Caring Cub's orphanage staff had devised to aid this happening was to have the only toilet set up at the end of the factory with no partitioning so that every one could see you going about your business. Thus most of the orphans would not stop for a drink unless they were really thirsty, to avoid having to use the toilet unless they were really busting. Choosing instead to hang on when ever possible to use the facilities at the orphanage over lunch or at night where some privacy could be found.  Three strokes of the cane were also given out, if a pup tried to hang on for to long and ended up wetting their pants. As the director of the orphanage put it "I've got better things to be spending money on than cleaning you little shit's clothes when your to lazy to use the toilet."

Needless to say Samuel wanted out of this place badly. His chance came about two and a half weeks after he had arrived at the orphanage.  Samuel had woken up early his bladder insisting that he empty it. He made his way to the toilet and relieved himself, as he was about to head back to the large dormitory room where all the orphans slept; he noticed that the creepy old dog who was the director of the orphanage had left his office door open,  The Beagle could see through the open door, there on a shelf was Samuel's box of keepsakes just exactly where it had been put when the pup had first arrived. Quickly and as quietly as possible, Samuel hurried into the office and dragged over the old canines office chair to clamber onto it in order to reach the small wooden box. Alas he was still to short, jumping he managed to just grab hold with the tips of his claws. To Samuels dismay the small brown box fell from his grasp striking the floor hard and chipping one corner of the lid. The young pup jumped back down off the chair and rushed over to where the box lay pausing just long enough to make sure all the contents were still intact and none had been ejected in the boxes fall. Samuel then dashed from the room intending to stash the box under his bed until he worked out a way to get out of this place. It was then that fate dealt a card in the beagles favour. For at that precise moment the director walked back in the front door and while he was removing his keys from the door; he was taken completely by surprise being to slow to grab Samuel. As the beagle pup bolted between the older canines legs and out the front door disappearing into the darkness of the predawn morning.

Samuel kept running until he had put several blocks between himself and the orphanage, the old canine had chased him a short distance but quickly gave up shouting "You'll be back when you get hungry you little shit." 

Samuel wandered aimlessly for a while, eventually after the sun got up he saw a landmark he recognised. Later that morning the young beagle puppy found himself standing outside his old family home, only now a new family was living there. When samuel knocked on the door he was told by the teenage boar that answered the door that the house had been completely empty when they had moved in, and they didn't know where any of samuel's families stuff was now. As Samuel turned and walked away from the home that had been a safe haven for his parents and himself the beagle pup felt more alone and depressed than he ever felt in his life.

Wiping another tear from his eye Samuel stood up hugging the small wooden box to his chest as he put the memory of that day behind him once more, and reminded himself that he had a new life with kuenia now. 

Samuel bent to pick up the blanket and pillow and then stopped himself.
"No" Samuel thought "Kuenia is bound to have blankets and stuff besides if anything goes wrong I might still need a place to come back to. If not hopefully this cozy basement will give some other fur a warm place to crash at night, just like it has for me."

The beagle walked back over to the crate under the window and placing the small wooden box on top he hefted himself back up onto the crate as well. Repeating the process to climb back out through the window, pushing the small crate concealing the window from the street out of the way as he moved.

"So what do we have here then?" came the familiar voice of a teenage marino ram that sent chills through Samuel as he saw Carl pick up the small brown wooden box containing all his keepsakes.

"Give it back Carl!!!" Samuel demanded as he scrambled to his feet from under the staircase and lunged at the sheep who was holding the box above his head out of reach.

"how'd you find me anyway?" the canine said angrily as he tried jumping to reach the box.     

"Easy, I followed you." Carl said then adopting an air of confusion he continued "I was sure you wanted me to follow you, so I could give you a pounding for calling me cuddles. That's why you spent so long talking to that old queer of a horse, letting me catch up with you, isn't it?"

"Hey don't talk about Gus like that, he's better than you'll ever be!" Samuel said making yet another attempt to reach the box still just out of the canines grasp where it was being held by the ram. 

"Better at taking it up the ass you mean!" Carl replied laughing at Samuel's feeble efforts to retrieve the box he held.

Samuel was beginning to see it was pointless trying to beat Carl at this game and so tried a different tack. "Carl, I'm sorry I called you cuddles,  would you please give me my box back."

"Does puppy want his box back? Well make me!" Carl said sniggering at the beagle pup.

"Ok. I asked nicely." Samuel said calmly as he suddenly drew back his arm and clenched his paw, before forcefully driving the fur covered appendage forward with all the energy the young canine could muster; slamming into the large testicles prominently being displayed by the rams tight fitting jeans.

The result was instantaneous, with a sharp intake of air the ram doubled over in pain lowering the box into Samuel's reach.  Grabbing the prize Samuel tucked the box under his arm and ran off as fast as his young legs could carry him. Carl screamed after him "Your dead dog! Dead, you hear me!"

Rounding the corner samuel just managed to stop before running into Gus for the second time that day. The large chestnut stallion had heard all the yelling and thought he should come and check to make sure Samuel was ok. A second later Carl came hobbling around the corner after the beagle.

"Ah Carl, I should have known it was you, still picking on those smaller than yourself I see." Gus said in a scolding tone.

"What's it to you? It's none of your business you old fag." Carl spat back venomously.

"Well lets see, your mother asked me to keep an eye on you, since you have apparently been getting up to a few things for which she doesn't approve, and your threatening to kill this young canine here who just happens to be a good friend of mine. So I'm making this my business! Now get your ass home before this old fag as you call me, decides to split your ass open on my dick!" Gus finished by baring his teeth, his muzzle now only millimetres from Carls face.   

Carl muttered a few things under his breath before backing down and hobbling off in the direction of his home.

Gus turned to Samuel and asked "I notice Carl seems to be walking a little funny, you wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

"Who me? Not in the slightest I asked him very politely to return this box of mine several times, then for some reason he decided to punch my fist with his balls before giving me my box back." the young beagle replied.

Gus gave a small chuckle, "Yes, I guessed it would probably have been something simple like that, leaving you completely innocent. Just remember that such tactics should be your last resort, ok." 

"Don't worry they are." Samuel said trying not to smile before changing the subject "Gus would you really split his ass open with your dick?"

This time Gus burst into laughter "Of corse not, well not unless he asked me to anyway. I am far to big to fit into him... but this isn't the sort of talk suitable for a pup your age. Now what do you say I give you a ride back to your new home with your stuff. Just in case Carl decides to make good on his threats before he has had a chance to calm down and I've had a chance to talk to his mother. I think todays little incident might just be the last straw for her and Carl might find himself living on his uncles farm very soon, where he can put all his energy to a more productive use."

"Thanks Gus, that would be great, but it's not to far is it? Kuenia's shop is all the way over in crofts street in riverside?" Samuel said as he scrambled onto the older stallions back as Gus squatted down for him.

"Sure no problems my pup, are you hanging on?" Gus replied as he stood up to his full hight once more.

"Yep I'm hanging on." Samuel said having shove the small wooden box inside his shirt so as to leave his paws free to rap around the large equines neck. "Now Giddy-up!"

"I'll give you Giddy-up!" Gus said breaking into a flat out gallop quickly reaching speeds that made the young beagle hang on for dear life, as the middle aged stallion showed his young friend that he still had the stuff, completing the thirty minute journey in a little over seven minutes racing through the crowds and jumping small obstacles like they weren't even there.

"Hey Gus!" A bay stallion called out as the older equine and his canine passenger zoomed past him.

Gus slammed on the brakes skidding to a stop, catching the beagle pup in his arms as he got thrown forward from the rapid deceleration, before gently putting the young canine down onto the road. 

"Hi Percy." Samuel said recognising the other stallion instantly. 

"So what's the rush?" Percy asked a little concerned.

"Oh I was just giving our young friend an express ride to Crofts Street, where apparently he's landed a new job and somewhere better to live than the Professor's dusty old basement." Gus replied tousling the young Beagle's head fur.

"Well that is exciting news, mind if I tag along to see where you're going to live Samuel?" Percy said happy for the young pup that he seemed to have caught a break, which the stallion thought was well deserved. Like many who knew the energetic youngster Percy had a special place in his heart for the lively young canine.

"Sure, I can tell you all about Kuenia on the way.  You don't need any new clothes do you?"

The three males walked the two remaining blocks  to croft Street, while Samuel enthusiastically recounted his day to the two stallions. 

Arriving at Kuenia's Shop Percy said "Oh this is the old Paterson place I did a bit of work for Ernie Patterson a while back, nice bloke. I'll be sure and stop by and see you in a few days Samuel. But I have to keep moving now. Actually come to think of it, it's a good thing you brought Gus to me Samuel I could use an extra pair of hooves at the job I was heading too. If your up for it Gus after your little Gallop before?" Percy said turning to look at Gus.

"Not a problem I'm in." Gus replied to Percy before turning back to Samuel "Well I guess we'll both be seeing you later then Pup and don't forget if there is any problems you know where to find me." 

"That goes for me to." Percy added.

"Ok, thanks Gus, thanks Percy." Samuel waved goodbye to the equines as they headed off down the street discussing the job that Percy had for Gus.

Samuel pulled out the small set of keys Kuenia had given him. Looking through the keys the Beagle found the big silver one Kuenia had said would open the door.

The pup reached up and inserted the shiny key into the lock. As Samuel turned the key he heard a loud click as the door unlocked. Opening the door the Beagle stepped tentatively inside not really sure what to expect. With a quiet click the door closed behind the young male as Samuel took in the room, which was painted white with a large wooden table in the centre of it. On one side of the table there was an "A" frame that currently held a roll of blue fabric that Samuel recognised from one of Kuenia's fabric squares. lined up along the wall behind the "A" frame was a few dozen other rolls of material many of which samuel also recognised from the fabric squares. It was sort of funny that because Samuel recognised so many of the fabrics which dominated the otherwise white room, it felt to the beagle as if he had been here before.

The other two walls held a variety of shelves and draws, some of which held various items associated with the making of clothing. While others remained bare white and empty waiting for a purpose to be found for them.

On the side wall hanging quite high up, sat a large black faced clock with white numbers standing in stark relief to all the white that surrounded it.  Samuel hoped he wouldn't have to climb all the way up there to wind that big ticking monstrosity.  

The Beagle let his attention move on from the clock and continued to look around the room.
The shop's front window and door were covered by a heavy white material that seemed to let plenty of light in but made it impossible to see through the glass from the outside.  

In the middle of the back wall was a heavy brown wooden door which was currently open with a short hallway visible through the opening. 

Samuel wandering from the shop into what was to become his new home, smiled to himself. Unlike the bright starkness of the white in the shop the house he had now stepped into was painted in warm colours that made him feel happy like the house was welcoming him in. 

On the left side of the hallway was a good sized kitchen. Which on inspection revealed cups and plates and cooking equipment, including a large metal mixing bowl Samuel guessed was for mixing up bread dough.  However it appeared that Kuenia hadn't been exaggerating there was hardly a scrap of food to be found anywhere in the room. Apart from a hunk of cheese in the ice box and half a loaf of slightly stale bread. The staleness of which Samuel verified by tapping it on the bench top with a soft thud before placing it back in the tin where he had found it.  

Samuel's tummy was grumbling a little again, but that was nothing new for the pup in the last few years. The Beagle thinking it better to play it safe and not eat anything he found, just in case it made Kuenia mad with him. If only he hadn't left the rest of his breakfast at G's.

Grabbing his keep sake box off the cheerful pale yellow kitchen table where he had left it, before rummaging through the kitchen cupboards; Samuel continued his exploration of the house,  On the right hand side of the hallway was three bedrooms. The one closest to the shop was the biggest bedroom with a large bed sitting on a thick dark red rug. Samuel wandered over to the bed and rested a paw on the super soft dark blue quilt that covered it. The Beagle suddenly found that like Goldie Retriever and the 3 Bears he just had to try the bed out, it just looked so big and comfy.  Placing his box carefully down on the floor Samuel removed his shiny new orange sneakers, so as not to get any dust from his footwear onto the cozy looking bed. The pup left one shoe on each side of his keepsake box so they could keep watch over his precious things.  Samuel even now, here in his new home, found himself unconsciously taking precautions in case he had to grab everything and run.

Climbing onto the bed the young Beagle snuggled into the unbelievably soft quilt on top of it.  Even without his super powerful sense of smell passed onto him from his ancient ancestors, the Beagle could have detected his Dingo boss's scent emanating from the heavenly fleecy fabric. Leaving Samuel in no doubt that this is where Kuenia slept. Samuel couldn't remember the last time, if ever, that he had been on such a comfortable bed. However he was pretty sure this was not where he was going to be sleeping. So somewhat reluctantly his body agreed to his request to move and the pup climbed off the other side of the bed. Padding over to the window Samuel pulled back a set of those same white curtains that he had seen in the shop, to reveal a spectacular view of the red brick wall of the house behind the neighbouring shop no more than a metre away from the window. 

Although the view was not completely unexpected, Samuel still found himself slightly disappointed. Since it was obvious that all the windows on this side of the house would be looking at this same wall. It would have been nice to have had a room with a window that showed something other than a wall. A visage he was all too familiar with after living in the dark basement for the last two and a bit years.  Turning from the window Samuel walked past the end of the bed and a wardrobe which contained unsurprisingly a few more suits and other fine clothes that a large canine might wear. Heading out of the room samuel stopped briefly to pick up his small wooden box and his sneakers. 

The next room was painted a very light pink in colour and had the same thick dark red rug on the floor as was in Kuenia's bedroom. However this time in addition to a wardrobe which proved to be empty. There were two much smaller beds both of which had soft but very warm looking white and pink checkered blankets. Samuel tried each of the beds in turn while he puzzled as to why Kuenia would have pup sized beds in his house.  "Was Kuenia planning to bring a pup home with him today?" While still pondering this, Samuel moved on to the third and final bedroom. In this room the walls and ceiling were painted a pale blue in colour with a smattering of what looked like fluffy white clouds painted onto the blue background. The lone small wooden bed with it's warm yellow fleecy blanket sat upon a thick strand knotted green rug.  

Samuel thought it looked sort of like a hill top on a Sunny day, like he had seen in pictures once or twice. The pup had never been to the country but the idea of being able to lay in bed and pretend that he was on a mountain top made him instantly love the room.  It was only a formality to try the bed out at this point since Samuel's mind was made up, that this was to be his bedroom. That is if he got to choose, but the Beagle didn't really think Kuenia would force him to sleep in the pink room. 

After laying on the yellow clad bed for a minute looking up at a cloud painted on the ceiling, Samuel came to the conclusion that Kuenia had the softest bed, but all the pup sized beds were quite comfortable but all felt pretty much the same.   Samuel getting off the bed noticed that on the same wall as the door was a dark green chair in the corner which had been hidden from his view by the wardrobe when he had first entered the room. Padding over to the wardrobe the Beagle couldn't help but look inside his ever curious nature would not be faltering him anytime soon.  

Inside the wardrobe on a top shelf Samuel only found a spare blanket for the bed, which he didn't think he would ever need. Since the blanket already on the bed looked far nicer and warmer than what he was used to back in his old basement home among the crates of fossils.  However that blanket might still be useful the Beagle thought to himself. The young canine dragged the chair over to climb on and pulled the blanket from the wardrobe. Unfolding it on the bed, Samuel then placed his keepsake box in the middle of the large woollen yellow rectangle. Then the pup wrapped his box lovingly as he folded up the soft fleecy bedding. Carefully putting it back into the wardrobe once more only with it's hidden treasure held safely inside this time.

Samuel putting the chair back where he had found it to hide his covert actions, felt somewhat pleased with himself for finding a good place to hide his precious box of memories. Stepping back out into the hallway to his right was a storage room that had very little in it apart from a bright blue hand cart and a few empty boxes. At the back of the room was a door leading out into a small yard.  Trying to turn the handle Samuel found the door was locked,  but remembering the keys in his pocket the pup had soon found one that unlocked the door. Venturing outside the Beagle only found a larger cart parked in front of a gate leading out to an alley way. On the back wall of the house was a clothes line with a large tank on a platform beside it. The tank was painted black which would absorb the heat from the sun to provide a certain amount of hot water for the house in summer. Thus saving the need to light a fire for heating water for bathing or washing things.

Going back inside Samuel had a moment of panic when he couldn't get the back door to lock again, however after jiggling and shaking the door as well as the key, then finally kicking the door in frustration saying "Lock you stupid stinking Tail hole of a door." The key turned and the wooden adversary was locked again. Samuel left the storage room very annoyed with the door for making his paw hurt after he had kicked it. Sitting on the floor of the hall way Samuel gave his foot paw a soothing rub before picking up his sneakers from where he had left them and putting them back on again. He was thankful despite now having a slightly sore paw that at least his sneakers weren't scuffed, which might have happened if he had been wearing them when he kicked the stupid door.

Turning right Samuel took a few steps down the short side hallway that was opposite his new bedroom. On his left was a second doorway back into the kitchen and straight ahead was the door into the last remaining room. The bathroom was a reasonable size containing a large steal bathtub and a trough for washing ones paws or doing the laundry in.  At the end of the bath was a shiny silver toilet with a picture of a flower painted on the lid that sat over the wooden seat. A large basket sat in the corner of the room that which upon the ever curious Beagle pup peering inside, contained a small amount of dirty washing. Finally along the wall separating the kitchen from the bathroom was a row of big fluffy yellow towels hung on a rail. The heat from the oven on the other side of the wall would help aid the towels to dry whenever the fire for the oven was lit.

Having now thoroughly explored his new home and discovered a mystery in just why Kuenia had bedrooms with pup furniture in them. Samuel wandered back through the large brown door, that joined the shop with the two canine's cozy new home. Glancing at the large clock on the wall, Samuel realised that he had better get moving, if he wanted to get back to the restaurant before the dingo was finished with Mr Clyde, if he hadn't already finished. The young pup estimating, it had already been two hours since he had left Kuenia at the restaurant.  Hurrying out the front door, Samuel took great care to make sure that it was locked properly behind him, before pocketing the keys and running off towards the restaurant.

End of chapter 3.

A/N: This chapter was a little harder to write since I had to delve a little more deeply into Samuel's past.  I tried to keep it light as I care for the pup and don't like thinking about the pain the young beagle has had to live through. However it was his life, so it would be wrong to completely ignore his journey before he met Kuenia, just to make me feel better. 

In chapter 4 "Sweet Dreams My Beagle." Kuenia and samuel join up again and head home to the shop for their evening meal and their first night together.  If your reading the adult version then as promised at the end of chapter 1 there is a small amount of yiffy activity in a nice bath scene, to get a certain young beagle looking and um... feeling his best before bed time.

Rassy Eyefur.