Hey everyone, thanks for the feedback on chapter one. Because of the glowing reaction, I decided to expand this beyond just Valentine's Day - because, after all, there's more to love than romance and more holidays about it than Valentine's Day. For those who haven't read "Love Protects," I'll just give a brief explanation; this takes place in an anthro universe (kind of like Zootopia) with humanoid versions of the Balto cast. Although there are some differences in their personal histories, the characters' personalities are much the same, as are their looks (save for obvious anatomical changes).
To begin with, I'm posting this chapter for Mother's Day. Yes, I realize it's over a week early, but I wanted to get it out sooner rather than later for an important reason: I wanted people who read it to have time to think about their own mothers, and how to properly thank them this May 8.
I'll save the rest of the side info for the end, so happy reading!
The bustle of a Saturday morning filled a Haul-Mart as four canids strode down a main aisle. One was a wolf-husky with brown fur, yellow eyes, and a build slightly on the short side – not that he minded. To his left strode a slim, immaculately groomed red-and-cream husky – his wife. Just behind them walked their son, a teenage husky with colors like his mother's with a touch of his father's shade and a figure well on his way to being a little taller than either of his parents. Meanwhile, on the father's right – carefully kept within arm's reach – was a girl pup with colors like her father's but warmer, and enough enthusiasm for all four of them.
"Can we pick out my swimsuit first?" she asked eagerly.
"Hey, calm down Aleu," chuckled her father, Balto. "The pool party's not until Wednesday, remember?"
Kodi snorted humorously. "You know she's not going to stop until she gets it," he pointed out. Then, changing the subject, he added, "Mind if I head over to the sports section? I need to replace some of my track gear."
"Go ahead," answered the husky, Jenna. "I'm sure the two of us can handle Aleu."
She might not have said that if she had known what the next thirty minutes held in store.
The remaining three, much to Aleu's delight, did go to the clothes section first - not because of Aleu's pestering, but because it happened to be right at the front. As long as they were there, Jenna elected to get a few things as well, leaving Balto to keep an eye on Aleu. It didn't take long for trouble to show its face.
"What about this one?" asked Aleu, holding up a hanger.
Balto turned and just stopped, facing a true father's nightmare. Aleu was holding up a two-piece that would have been questionable on a girl twice her age. At some point later he would wonder what kind of sick person would even design a swimsuit like that in pup sizes, but at the moment he was too busy just being horrified.
Aleu, puzzled at his pause, waved a hand. "Hello, Earth to Papa? What do you think?"
He found his voice as his brain and mouth, strangers a moment ago, formed an alliance. "Absolutely not," he answered with great emphasis, folding his ears flat against his head.
She frowned. "Why not?" she asked.
This time, Balto's brain and mouth weren't so harmonious. His mouth wanted to say, "Because I won't have boys seeing my daughter is something that skimpy." His brain pointed out that, as valid as that was, it would be bound to spark an argument about his "babying" her, which he hated almost as much as arguing with Jenna. To make matters worse, disputes on that particular subject always made him worry that maybe he was a tad overprotective, having never had the chance to see his parents model how to raise a daughter.
In the interest of not just standing there in silence, Mouth and Mind reached a compromise: call in the expert. Balto raised himself up on his toes, looked out over the racks, and spotted that familiar patch of red fur. "Jenna," he called, keeping his tone calm so that it sounded as if he were dealing with a simple phone call, "It's for you."
Jenna broke off from what she was doing and made her way through the displays of clothing. "What is it?" she asked.
Balto stepped aside for her. "A job for Wonder Woman," he replied, trying unsuccessfully to lighten the mood. "I thought you'd be better to handle it."
She hooked him by the elbow as he started to leave. "Where are you going?"
He turned back, looking just a little guilty. "We do have a schedule to keep," he reasoned. "One of us should take care of the groceries in case this takes a while – and it usually does with Aleu," he added under his breath.
Jenna was frowning as she let him go. "You owe me," she told him, only half-meaning it.
He patted her on the arm. "I'll make it up to you," he promised before disappearing among the racks.
She sighed and turned her attention back to her daughter, who was now holding her selection behind her back. "Okay, what's this about?"
Aleu wore a sour expression as she brought it out. "Papa doesn't like this swimsuit," she explained.
Jenna was only half as stunned as her husband had been, but she was still taken aback. "Where's the swimsuit?" she asked.
"Mom," Aleu protested, now folding her ears down as Balto had done, "everyone's wearing these. Besides, I've seen the laundry; I know you have things like this."
"Underwear," Jenna pointed out, "not beach wear."
"It's a pool party," Aleu countered, trying to play a technicality. "I wouldn't be wearing it to a beach."
"No." Jenna took the suit and hung it back up. "Why would you even want that one?"
"Because," Aleu argued, "everyone wears these kinds of bathing suits these days."
Jenna shook her head. "Well apparently everyone doesn't have parents who care."
The pup folded her arms defiantly. "What's the worst that could happen?" she argued.
For a moment, Jenna froze. If Balto had been terrified into paralysis by the swimsuit, she was impacted no less by that question. It took her a long moment to regain her sense of calm.
"Aleu, there's a lot of things you don't know about, and some of them I hope you never do." She rubbed her upper arm uneasily. "Just take my word for it that you need to be careful."
"Why?" asked Aleu.
"Because..." Jenna stopped and sighed. This wasn't the time or place for horror stories; she silently prayed there would never be one. "Because in a few years, you're going to start drawing boys' attention. You might be drawing it now and not know it."
Aleu didn't understand her mother's demeanor, but she knew enough to know the basic idea of what her mother meant. "What's wrong with that?" she asked. "You draw Papa's attention all the time, and neither one of you worries when Dusty dresses to impress Kodi."
"She's not my daughter," Jenna pointed out, "but I'd worry if I saw her resorting to something like this." At least now she had recovered from the brunt of Aleu's question. "As for me and your father, that's different. We're married, for one thing, and we got there by understanding each other. I know what kind of man he is."
Something about the way Jenna voiced this last part made Aleu wonder. "How many kinds are there?"
Jenna took a deep breath. "Two kinds," she answered. "Come on; let's find you a swimsuit while I explain.
"Some of the boys you'll meet in life," she explained as she and Aleu began sorting through the racks, "are the kind you'll want paying attention to you: good, decent; the kind of boys who will respect you as a person, the way your father does with me or Kodi does with Dusty – and I know you've seen them," she added, mindful of Aleu's habit of snooping. "Not all boys are like that, though; some will only be interested in your looks and what they can get out of you. If you wear things that draw attention just to your body, you're making it a lot easier for them and a lot harder for the good ones."
"How is wearing a bikini going to make it easier for the jerks?" asked Aleu. "It's not like I'd go out with just any guy. If someone tries to touch me, I'll just bite them."
Jenna knew Aleu would do it, but she shook her head. "Males are a lot more visual than we are," she explained. "What they see can have a lot more impact on them than it would on us, especially if they're the kind you should avoid."
"If it's different for them than it is for us, how do you know what it's like for them?" Aleu was nothing if not quick to catch a hole in an argument.
Jenna, however, was one step ahead. "Because I'm a mother," she countered calmly, "and I got to be one by knowing a few things about the male mind."
Aleu hated it when her mother caught her like that. "Okay, so that explains the first part," she admitted, picking out a less showy two-piece. "What about making it harder for the good guys?"
Jenna studied the pick and shook her head. "When your father and I started dating," she explained, "I got a lot of attention from the wrong kind of boys – and I wasn't inviting it
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