Things Change

Never did Nova presume that her loving owners would kick her out of her own home.

She remembered being forced onto a truck, sealed up in a tiny cage, and her owners, Mike and Layla along with little Evelyn waving goodbye, tears in their eyes.

Surely they're coming back, Nova had thought as she set off on the bumpy ride. I'm going to think of this as an adventure. As the door of the jeep slammed shut, she finally had time to register what was going on around her, as well as her companions. Well, not exactly companions, more like unfriendly acquaintances (especially that one bulldog who got startlingly close, strands of drool oozing out of his mouth).

There were a notable amount of cats in there, which Nova didn't like. Cats were hairy and hissy and weird and mean, but then again being a golden retriever, she had quite a lot of hair too.

But cats were worse.

Being cramped in a cage was one of Nova's least favorite things. It reminded her of her old life in her old home, which brought back memories. Those days were filled with nothing but sorrow, sadness, and being clasped onto a pole with the tiniest leash and chains tangled in her matted, dirty fur.

Getting food twice a day was pure luck for her back then, as her owners mostly forgot she existed, which was unfair, as there was so much to love about her.

She didn't even steal the socks of her owner, except maybe once. But she had learned her lesson and soon after that day, she decided she would never meet The Whip again.

Never Ever Forever.

~~~

"Please, just one more week. We can pay it off, just give us one more week, please..."

Being a 7-year-old, Evelyn didn't understand what was going on. She didn't understand the seriousness of the situation. Or the fact that they would be kicked out of their own home unless they paid a certain amount of money to keep it.

She only knew fun, happiness, and playtime, being a child, but this time, she sensed something was wrong.

"Dad, what happened?"

"Nothing, honey," Her father said, clearly struggling to keep a brave face on.

Silence.

Let's play fetch with Nova!" He exclaimed with a fake smile after a long period of stillness.

Nova, her favorite little furball, but she knew something was up with her dad.

"Daddy, I know something's wrong. You always have that wrinkle on your forehead when you're worried."

Her dad let out a nervous laugh. "It's nothing."

Evelyn clearly didn't buy it, so then he cracked.

"Honey, we might have to...give up Nova. Not give up, necessarily. Just keep her somewhere else for a little while."

Oh no.

~~~

"Get out." Some man shoved her out of the cage and she tumbled onto the pavement

"Hi!" she said to the man.

The only response was "Oi, this one ain't got any back legs. She a tough one."

"Why thank you!" She wagged her tail.

"Runt, move it." Another dog said. He was talking. He was a Chihuahua.

"Human Animal Shelter," The sign of the store read in big, bold letters. Well, human with an "e" but she didn't know how to say that.

She barely had time to register the place before...

The Whip.

"I told you to never look at me ever again," she growled menacingly. Well, she hoped it had sounded menacing, but goldens can never really sound menacing.

The whip gleamed in the light, smug as always.

"You smug little cat," Nova told the whip. As far as she was concerned, cat was the worst insult ever. Ever in the whole wide world.

A dog nipped at one of the guy's heels, and soon, the whip was in action. Well, that terrified Nova, so she bolted into the shelter, slamming into a Shetland Sheepdog.

"Where are you're legs, puny little pup?" She asked. Nova put her head down, used to this. "Born this way," she answered, trying to look for a place that wasn't occupied by its butt so she could squeeze through. "Come on, Sugar," a man told the dog.

It was all Nova could do to keep from laughing. This dog? Sugar??

The dog growled.

"Now now Shweetie Pie, come here, come here, whos a good doggy?"

Nova turned her attention to the dog room, her new living quarters. Just one cramped room for all the dogs in the shelter. Its gonna be a long week, Nova thought.

Every dog in the room seemed to stare at Nova as she walked in. "No back legs, haha, weirdo," every dog seemed to think, but Nova didn't mind.

Being weird=unique. So haha, you CATS.

~~~

After weeks of being misused, underfed, and whipped by nothing other than the smug little monster, Nova had had enough.

After 30 minutes of inspecting, she came upon a gap in the fence, barely big enough to squeeze through. As she was getting ready to shimmy through the hole, she saw someone coming toward her.

~~~

Evelyn racked her brain for ways a seven-year-old could make money. This was about money, right? Well, she would show them money.

She took a long swig of orange juice. She always made her best creations when she was eating something.

Evelyn started to make a list when it hit her.

~~~

The strange...thing came closer to her.

And to Nova's horror, it was a CAT. It wasn't exactly walking, but limping.

The cat froze. "What are you doing here? Who are you??" It hissed. "This is my spot." Typical cats. So possessive. If they had to fish and another cat wanted a fish too, they would keep both fish for themselves. And who eats fish?

"Ummmmmmmmm I'm Nova anddd I was leavi-I mean, exploring. Y'know, exploring. Yes, that's it. What are you doing here?"

"I am KALIKO, thanks for asking," The cat said. "And I was getting tired of the stupid treatment in the shelter. So I decided to escape. Thanks for being honest with me. You're sooo nice."

"Okay sarcasm face, I was leaving too," Nova launched into an explanation as the cat--Kaliko-- eyed her nonexistent back legs, which she was getting tired of.

"Well," Nova finally says, "Whaddya say we escape together? Huh? Hmm?? That'd be fun!"

As soon as she said the words, she regretted them. Why had she said that? Her and her big mouth. The cat remained stone-faced.

"Well, I'm leaving, whether you're coming or not." She squeezed through the gap in the fence, expecting a solid cement floor, but...

She fell into an abyss.

~~~

Kaliko couldn't believe she had actually contemplated whether or not she should join the dog. It was a dog, for cat's sake. A bone chewer. Ew.

She should have just said no. Straight up no, no problems.

But as she was weighing out the options, the stupid dog just said, "Well, I'm leaving, whether you're coming or not.", and jumped through the fence like an idiot, but what more would she expect from a dog.

After a long period of thinking, Kaliko had decided.

I can't believe I'm doing this... Kaliko thought.

Then she jumped through the hole, into darkness.

~~~

"Welcome to fairyland, how may I help you?" Were the first words that Kaliko heard in what seemed like forever, but it was probably just a few seconds that she had been in the hole.

But wait. The fairy was speaking. To them. In fluent ANIMAL.

"How do we get outtt??" Nova howled.

"Whoa there chillax buddy," Kaliko told her, even though he was freaked out as well.

Suddenly, another human with wings appeared. "To leave, you must work together and complete the challenges. Then, one of your problems could be gone if you finish in time! Good luck!" she said cheerfully.

Then she just went POOF. Like all Kaliko's hopes and dreams (lol).

"Oh, snickerdoodles," Nova said, holding the list that had appeared in her paws.

It was loooooooong.

"Well, looks like we're gonna hafta catch fish first!" Kaliko said, actually excited. Nova, in fact, looked the opposite.

"Come on, I can teach you," Kaliko nudged her and ran to the stream shown on the map. Reluctantly, Nova followed.

Soon enough, they had a basket full of fish. Nova seemed to actually...enjoy it. Well, looks like pigs can fly, Kaliko thought.

~~~

Never in her life did Nova think she would enjoy fishing. But, she did. The tasks on the list were surprisingly easy, and the one involving bones was one of her favorite.

Soon, they were standing in front of the portal that led to home.

This was fun. I can't wait to go home!!!

~~~

Kaliko woke up in her cage, panting. The events of the previous day had her shook. Wait, was this a dream or real? Kaliko wondered.

She had never thought she would ever like dogs, but Nova was a special case. Then she heard a sound. The rare occasion when an animal would get adopted. Who was it this time?

Definitely not her. No one wanted a limping cat.

Well, it was Nova. Strangely, he even felt a bit happy for that dog.

Things sure could change.

~~~

Nova's little dog heart was beating fast. After a whole month, her family had come back. She stayed in their warm embrace, cherishing every second of it.

Then she remembered a certain cat. She turned and saw him.

He really was some cat. Quite different from most. Then, she had the most wonderful idea. She launched into a series of barks, motioning to the cat.

Evelyn brightened. "Mommy, can we keep him?" It took quite a lot of begging, but soon, they had a new member of their family. Someone all had come to love.

Kaliko.

The End :)

ty for reading, hope you enjoyed :DD :33

~Rhea, 11 yrs