Page 5

FIVE

I grimaced when I entered Obie's bay, the smell an assault to my senses. It would be so much better if we could move him somewhere open-air, but without confirming he didn't have any secret diseases, he wasn't allowed to leave Quarantine.

He growled from his corner when he saw me, his back leg quivering. He looked absolutely terrified, and my heart broke for him. I didn't want to think about the horrors he had to go through to be this scared. As expected, his bowl of food was untouched even though he had to be starving.

"It's just me," I said, setting down my box with treats I prepared earlier. I wasn't sure if this was a waste of time, but I knew I had to try.

I sat down on the ground and picked up the first piece of chicken. The prep kitchen had been so kind to let me take a small piece of all sorts of meat and vegetables meant for the other residents in the sanctuary.

"Bit of chicken," I said, tossing the cube through the metal bars. It landed in front of Obie with a splat, but he didn't seem the slightest bit interested in it.

So not chicken. I crossed it off my list, glad that I had lots of other options with me.

I picked up something very slippery and soft. I tossed it towards the hellhound. "Liver. It's full of iron. It’s good for you."

Obie pressed himself even more into the corner, his teeth still on display.

It was too early to be discouraged and I carried on, moving on through the other meats. Duck, pork, mince, there was even some beef that was more expensive than anything I'd ever had myself. Our animals were getting the good stuff, that was for sure.

The hellhound wasn't impressed and ignored all the cubes of meat, although as time went on, throwing things into the bay seemed to agitate him less and less.

At least that was a measure of progress, even if he wasn't eating it and I hadn't thought about how to remove the random chunks of food from the floor.

That was a problem for later.

“I know you’re scared, but you have to eat. Are you into vegetables instead?" I asked, hoping that talking would get him used to my voice.

I tossed in a few pieces of carrot, twin apples that were the unicorns' favourite, some cucumber, a leaf of lettuce that should've gone to the jackalopes next door, all sorts of things. None seemed to charm Obie.

"You're a picky eater, huh?" I leaned against the wall, wondering if I was doing something wrong. Maybe he didn't like his food coming to him? Some animals had a high prey drive so perhaps Obie would prefer to chase his dinner.

Unfortunately, that wasn't possible at the moment. And considering how hungry he was, it shouldn't matter either. He should be scarfing down any morsel of food he could.

The only thing I could come up with was that he was far too stressed to eat, or this was just not the right food.

With a sigh, I grabbed my phone and opened up the Mythix platform, hoping to find an old forum or thread that I hadn't seen yet about hellhounds. Surely, someone somewhere in the world knew what they liked to eat and how to take care of them.

This was the basics of the basics. I hadn't even gotten to thinking about cutting his nails, washing him, or getting his wounds cleaned up. If there was alcohol in his sweat, at least that should be helping with keeping it disinfected.

While researching, I stumbled upon a video from someone working with rescue dogs and how to gain their trust. It was all about non-confrontational behaviour, persistently showing up, and letting them move at their own pace.

Some of the rescues took months to get used to being handled, which was definitely not ideal. We were going to need a solution much faster because he was setting off the fire alarm multiple times a week, and we couldn't have that sort of thing.

But at least I had an idea where to start.

"I guess you're a rescue and sort of like a dog," I said, pleased that speaking wasn't making him growl extra anymore. So he was getting used to my presence, it was just slow going.

That was fine with me. I was used to sitting and waiting. I'd done it with Kiki the kitsune, I'd done it watching Cinder the phoenix hatch. I could do it for Obie too.

My walkie-talkie came on. "Vet assistance needed at the Peryton Park."

The distorted sound spooked Obie, and his ears flattened as he scraped his paws over the ground.

The movements made his long nails spark and ignited his whole body.

It was an amazing thing to witness. His red eyes were shimmering from the fire, and the flames engulfed him, making him seem truly terrifying.

I knew I should leave, but I was mesmerised by the sight of him. He looked so ferocious, but all I could see was a sad dog that was scared of his own shadow.

The fumes travelled outside and set off the alarm. The horrible sound assaulted my ears and jolted me in motion so I could tell someone it was only Obie and not a real fire that needed putting out.

"I'll be back," I told Obie, not that he could understand. But a promise was a promise, and I had every intention of honouring it. But next time, I was going to leave my walkie-talkie outside.