At the Dog's Whine
Posted on Sat May 16th, 2020 @ 8:31pm by Lieutenant Gunnar Arnason & Ensign Davna
1,424 words; about a 7 minute read
Mission:
Equivalent Exchange
Location: Command Center, Just Outside the Captain's Office
Timeline: MD 03 : 1349 Hrs
Take care of Lugh, the Captain had said, He's very well-mannered. And potty trained. And only kind of growing. It'll be fun. Lugh likes you.
Curse Captain Mahone and his stupid pretty smile.
Davna had agreed to take on the task of watching the cute little pup (who had taken to growing up while she was not looking), but had discovered that within the first twenty four hours that Lugh did not do well without Luka around. He whined. He cried. There was only a pause for sleeping, which he did when he exhausted himself from the whining and crying.
And the Captain was not set to return for at least another few days. Luckily, he was organized enough to leave her a list of items to follow in case Lugh gave her any trouble. Until she was able to get a hold of him while he was in the middle of his meetings, she would have to make do with what she could.
A quick call was made down to the medical facility, where she knew the first person on the list would be in the middle of the day. Hopefully he would be more helpful than Koplo, who had yelled at the pup earlier simply for crying too loud.
"Don't worry buddy," Davna cooed, sliding off her chair and sitting down next to the sad little pup as he stared at Luka's door. She placed a hand in between his ears and ruffled the top of his head. "He'll be back soon." She hoped.
Gunnar headed for the Command Center as soon as he got the call. Fortunately the hospital wasn't busy today, but people had gotten somewhat used to him being called to handle veterinary issues so he probably could have justified ducking out as long as there were no actual emergencies. Stepping through the door, he saw a sad, distressed pup and an almost equally distress yeoman, trying to comfort him. His heart went out to both of them. "Hey there, Lugh," he said in a soft sympathetic voice as he knelt down to pet the dog. "First time with your person away, eh?"
Both Lugh and Davna had their eyes on the door as it swished open, the former with his tail wagging furiously. It would only be a few moments later that the low whine began, and the pup had his head low to the floor with a saddened huff. And though he would accept the pets, his eyes looked up at Gunnar with the saddest of expressions.
"I think the Captain is in a meeting, or I would have him on video for the poor guy." Davna settled her hands in her lap, watching close. "He's been good at least, no furniture tearing yet. I'm just worried about him not eating, if that's something I have to wait for or if the poor guy will starve himself."
"Dogs will go without food for a bit when they're down, but healthy dog won't starve himself," Gunnar assured her, settling on the other side of Lugh and stroking soothingly from head to back. He'd helped care for enough dogs left overnight at his dad's vet practice, as well as occasional dog sitting, to feel confident about that. It didn't mean Lugh wasn't depressed and worried though. "I'm not sure if a video call would help or not. I've seen dogs reassured by that, but also seem them get twice as anxious because they've heard their owner but can't smell or otherwise locate him. Scent can help though. If there's a blanket or t-shirt or such that has the Captain's scent, putting that with Lugh's bed may help him settle."
"Oh, I think that was in the big pack that the Captain left me." Davna recalled said ginormous blue bag, which contained multiple toys and a couple of leads (in case he broke the first one). She did remember seeing something that looked like an old shirt somewhere buried between tennis balls and blankets.
She gave a heavy sigh. "He did say he was coming back in a few days. I knew he was going to be handful, but I don't think I saw this coming. I should have, the lack of the Captain's presence is quite... obvious." She looked to the door that led to Luka's office, a pout forming on her features that may have matched Lugh's sad puppy eyes. "Hopefully he'll be out of this mess soon."
Gunnar ducked his head, hiding any expression that might betray the similarities he saw between Lugh and Davna in missing the Captain. Though honestly, he missed him too. He liked Luka, who was the first CO he'd ever had with a medical background. That had been invaluable during the epidemic that had been sweeping through the colony when he arrived, and in a lot of ways Luka had become as much a friend as a CO. "I hope so too. But as tough as it might be, Lugh will adjust. Dogs are remarkably good at adapting. But they do love deeply, and having the object of that love gone is never easy." He ruffled Lugh's fur, suppressing a sigh. Dogs and humans had a lot in common. "If you need a bit of help or time off, I've got a fair amount of experience with dog sitting."
"Oh I wouldn't dare impose." Davna shook her head, pulling the saddened pup into a hug and ruffling her face into his fur. Lugh seemed to almost fall limp in her arms, as if he was used to being toted around. "And he's too cute. I wouldn't want too many changes for him. It's already bad enough we have to deal with Commander Krunchy Knees." She spoke the nickname low, leaning over like she were speaking some conspiratorial plans to stage a coup. If only she were. "I think Lugh thought the Commander was going to play with him, but I think he was thought as too adorable. Which apparently is an atrocity wherever he's from."
"It wouldn't be any imposition. Luka brings him by the hospital a lot, so that might feel reassuring," he assured her, though he got the impression that for her Lugh was maybe filling the roll the t-shirt and blankets were supposed to fill for Lugh. "In fact, maybe you should bring him over. It could help for you to do something social and positive together." He gave a slightly conspiratorial smile. "Plus it would get you away from the Commander. I don't know what his issue is - I've known Klingons who loved their warghuls like children - but he seems very determined to project a ...certain image."
Davna's lips curled into a smile. She would not have called it devious herself, but, there were others who might have. "Apparently there's a rumor starting that he was almost eaten by a warghul as a child. I have no idea where this rumor started. Or who could hate this cute little face." She planted a giant kiss on the side of Lugh's cheek, and the pup responded with a much more slobbery lick in return. "Oh!" Davna pulled back in surprise, but laughed all the same. "I forgot he did that. I'll have to come down there. I haven't been to my favorite coffee spot in awhile."
For it was certainly the little coffee kiosk that had Davna's attention. Of course. "I could use a break from him. I think he could use a break from me. He's probably not used to being yelled at by a yeoman about keeping appointments."
Gunnar laughed. He imagined the rather gruff Klingon wasn't used to being yelled at by much of anyone, but that just meant a break was all the more in order. "In my opinion, coffee is always the perfect excuse for a break," he said, rolling up onto a knee and taking the pup's face in his hands and stroking his cheeks. "Right, Lugh? What do you think? I bet Jess still has dog cookies under the counter."
Lugh let out a small yip in-between face rubbings. He relished the attention, tail wagging against Davna's leg. The young Orion unfurled herself from her position. "Then it's decided," she resolved, hopping up off the floor. "Shall we, before the big meanie catches wind?"
"Absolutely," Gunnar laughed, rising to his feet. "Come on, Lugh. There's a whole hospital staff that'll be happy to cheer you up."
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