Cold Feet: The Story of a Lupe

by PuchieDuchie

I'm Iris, a Lupe owned by PuchieDuchie who loves dogs. However, she did not create me, nor did she adopt me. She found me, cold and nearly frozen at the Terror Mountain Top. Well, I'm not gonna just sum up my life in one simple sentence.

***

I was born into a family of Ice Lupes as the runt, and youngest little girl of the litter. All of my brothers and sisters taunted and teased me about how small and weak I was. They pulled my ears and dared me to even try to hit or bite them back. I lunged, obviously not well enough. They'd move away from me and I'd fall flat on my face. "Ha Ha!!!" they yelled. "You'll never be as big as us!" I'd walk away, tail between my legs and tears running off my snout. When meal times came I was always shunned aside by my siblings. When I managed to get even a sliver of food they'd either nip it off my spot of the table or throw it on the floor and make me eat it off the ground like the little Puppyblews in our house. My parents proved no help. "It'll toughen you up so you can survive in the real world!" my papa would say. My Maman was of no help either. "I agree with your father," she'd say, "besides, you are looking quite small."

One day in the month of Running, and in the early hours when I should have been sleeping, I put on my coat and my Paw-Paw snow shoes and hightailed it out as quietly as I could, determined to make it on my own. I knew my family wouldn't miss me. I walked out into the freezing snow and looked around.

From the top of my mountain I could see the Usul ski slopes (something I was never allowed to go to), the Snow Food Shop, the igloo of Carassa and Mika, the Whack-A-Beast Arena (I was never to go there because of the large hammers), the Snow Faerie's house, and the giant Ski Lodge. A muffled scream emanated from the large building and made my blood run cold.

As swiftly as I could, I scuffled down the side of the mountain, where I was sure no one would look to find my Pawpaw prints. When I got to the bottom, a snowball smacked me on the snout. I looked to see who threw it. A group of Bruces came up. One pointed at me and said, "You look like you've got a comfy coat there. I wanna try it on."

"No way! It's my coat! Besides," I pointed to his raggedy vest, "you have your own."

The Bruces quickly surrounded me and yanked the coat off my back. They threw the old vest at me and laughed as they ran off. I sat there, my head hanging. I knew I couldn't return home without my coat. If I did, Maman would spank me and I'd be bitten by my siblings. I put on the vest and walked off, shivering. I finally fell in the snow under a big tree and fell asleep.

In the morning I walked to Carassa and Mika's garage-loo. I knew they'd let me stay for a while because they and the snow food shopkeeper were my parent's only friends. I knocked on the door and Mika answered. "Oh, my Iris! You're nearly a block of ice! What are you doing here?"

"I ran away," I answered.

Mika invited me in and gave me a cup of hot Borovan. I sipped it and felt immediately warmed. Carassa came in and said, "Oh, no Mika, no! Iris can NOT stay here! My mother is DEATHLY allergic to Lupe fur! And she'll be here soon!"

With a quick "I'm sorry" and a slight push, I was out the door. I trotted over to the Snow Faerie's house and knocked on the door. She opened it, then gasped. She yelled, "Get out of here! You are not welcome here you filthy monster!" and slammed the door in my face. I'll thank my brothers for that stunt. They pummeled her house in sticky snowballs. She spent a week cleaning it up. I walked off and sat under another tree, cold and hungry. My stomach growled and my feet were numb.

A few days later I got up and walked near the Ski Lodge. I watched as a family of Chias walked by. A little one tried to come up and pet me, but her mother pulled her away. I curled up in the snow and put my paws over my face and cried. A tap on my back startled me. I jumped up and growled. A girl with a red Gelert knelt next to me.

"Excuse me for disturbing you," the girl said, "but I wanted to ask what you were doing out here without a coat or a place to be."

I stood staring at her for a second, then put my head in her warm lap and cried. "My parents and siblings don't like me and I ran away," I cried. "No one will let me stay with them. I haven't had much to eat ever and I'm starving!"

The girl rubbed my face and pulled out a chocolate Chia and gave it to me. I wolfed it down and thanked her. She picked me up and carried me off. She fed me well and played with me so I am very healthy now. Her Gelert, Locanikke, and I became fast buddies. The girl loved to be called PuchieDuchie. And I now have a new coat! I love to go back to the Mountain Top and reminisce. I've never seen my family since then and I never plan to. The Snow Faerie is still reluctant to let me into her house.

The End