Chapter 4: Chapter 4

“Welcome to Acker. I’m Doc, the local veterinarian,” Doc said, smiling at him politely. “Nobody wants to learn how my first name is actually pronounced, so they call me Doc.”

“I’m not Kaos either, although my real name would be easier and require less spelling it out, I think. K-A-O-S. Nice to meet you.”

“P-A-D-R-A-I-G. Padraig. Likewise.” It sounded more like paw-drig, so Kaos understood.

Kaos caught an odd look from Makai but decided to leave it for now.

Doc turned his attention to the others again. “How are Mouse and Spike doing?”

“They’re pretty great. We need to set up the appointment to snip Spike, though,” Emil said. “Poor boy.”

“Yes, we wouldn’t want him to repeat his father’s mistakes,” Doc agreed empathically. “Although it all turned out really well, it could have been much worse for everyone, including Mouse.”

“Tell me about it,” Makai said, and shivered delicately for such a big man.