A Walk in the Park
Trevor threw the ball again. Sharrow ran down the hill wagging his tail happily. His slender legs kept moving rapidly, stopped for a split second, tensed for a jump and landed back.
“What a great catch!” Trevor spread his arms open welcoming Sharrow in an embrace.
He was a 2-years-old axehandle hound - very well-behaved, very smart. Trevor loved his hound more than anything.
Sharrow placed the ball gently in his owner’s palm. The man patted the hound’s pointy head, reached in his fanny pack and took out a small axe handle. The canine didn’t think twice before swallowing it eagerly.
Trevor was prepared to continue with the game when he spotted Xin heading towards them. As usual, she was out for her evening jog and her precious Kuai trotted along with her.
Sharrow barked excitedly and ran to greet his old friend. Kuai bowed in a friendly posture. Xin’s face lit up from joy as soon as she spotted him. She stopped, kneeled and started petting Sharrow lovingly. His tail was wagging so fast it looked like a helicopter propeller.
“Hi, Xin! Hi, Kuai!” Trevor approached them slowly, reminding himself not to seem too excited in front of Kuai. However, the big black fluffy huodou didn’t think twice and jumped over Trevor knocking him to the ground. Kuai’s front paws remained on the man’s chest pinning him down so he couldn't escape her kisses.
“Kuai!” Xin stood up and headed eagerly to her canine.
“Alright, alright, girl!” Trevor put his hands in front of Kuai trying to escape her wet tongue.
Xin got to them and moved Kuai away, grabbing her by her collar.
“Bad, houdou! Look at the mess you made!” Kuai looked guilty and her ears backed away from the head.
“No worries, really” Trevor stood up and got wet wipes from his pocket. His face was covered in charcoal. Houdous ate coals and because of that their tongues were always black. Moreover, they could breathe fire with each bark so the man was happy enough with the dirt on his face.
“We’re really trying to improve our training lessons, but she still can’t control herself if she’s too excited…” Xin sighed observing both of the dogs chasing each other. She turned her eyes to Trevor. “You still have some dirt on your nose. I’m so sorry”
“It’s fine!” He laughed and wiped his nose. “Besides, she doesn’t bark anymore which is amazing! I’m sure she’ll be prepared to come to work with you soon enough.”
“Oh, actually, I didn’t tell you but we got our first case!” Xin smiled proudly. “That’s why I’m so eager to finish our training.”
“Really? Xin, that’s amazing!” Trevor looked at the woman admiringly, and one could read sincere happiness in his eyes. “What’s the case? If it’s not classified, of course.”
“Bunch of untrained kids got their hands on an artefact.” Xin shrugged. “Nothing so special. But it’s the best opportunity to show them what we got.”
“Oh, I’m sure you’ll be fine. But what about the kids? Will they be extermina—”
“Orders are orders, Trevor. And once we get them, we fulfil them.”
Both of them kept silent for a while. The carelessness in the canine’s play was hypnotising. Trevor couldn’t believe that Kuai can kill someone. That the very same ball of fur he was meeting at the park for over a year now is capable of burning someone to a crisp, let alone, on command. He knew for sure that Sharrow isn’t.
“Someone has to keep the order, Trev.” Xin broke the silence. “Look at what happened a few months ago. That unregistered magi user going berserk on the streets, murdering a bunch of random people. A baby died… We’re doing what we can and what our higher ups think it’s right for this city…”
Trevor nodded and his eyes accidentally stopped at the symbols carved in Xin’s shoulders. He didn’t have any idea what they meant. Sometimes he felt that although he knew her for years, she remained a stranger. Magi would always be foreign to normal people.
