Chapter 23: F ranked quests, here the leaves come!

The four were before the quest board again, and Filarion was picking their quest. He wanted something that will actually make the three work. He still remembered that they hadn't done anything but read during the cat sitting quest. Then, he saw it.

A dog walking quest. One with the dog being a chihuahua.  A rat, one that would attack bigger dogs. Filarion grinned sadistically.

"I found it," he pointed at the quest, and the three began to shake their heads.

"Come on, Fil. Not the dog from Hell," Nathaniel spoke.

"Is this because we keep calling you grandpa?" Gregory asked. The truth was, he was the one to call Filarion grandpa most of the time.

"It did play a role in the decision-making process," Filarion admitted. He was an elf. Seventy was too young for his race for him to be called grandpa.

"Fil," Zaine whined, but Filarion turned around, and marched to the receptionist's desk.

"We would like the chihuahua walking quest," Filarion told the woman, whose eyes narrowed.

"Aren't you supposed to be in prison?" She asked, and Filarion gave her a dazzling smile.

"All a big misunderstanding, I assure you," Filarion waited a bit, and the woman gave him the quest. Then she smirked at him.

"Fifi is known for peeing the pant legs of those who walk her. Marks her territory, so to speak," she said, and Filarion just handed the scroll to Gregory.

"I am certain that Gregory will be careful with the rat. I mean, the dog," Filarion gave the woman a small bow, and marched his kids out of the guild hall.

"Grandpa, I don't want to go near the piss machine," Gregory whined, as he had figured that he would be the one holding the leash.

"And I don't want to be called grandpa, but such is life," Filarion told him, and then placed an arm around the archer's shoulders. He brought the boy to himself, and kissed him on the head. "Think of it that way. If the blasted rat pees on me, people will think me senile. On you, it will just show that you are young still."

Gregory shoved Filarion off of himself, and huffed.

Soon, they were before the house. Fifi the chihuahua was a nervous wreck. She twitched and glared with her bulging eyes. Her owner gave the leash to Filarion without caring if he should be in prison, and then went back inside.

The elf gave the leash to Gregory, and Fifi made a beeline for his leg.

"No, bad dog," Gregory whined, as Fifi marked him, and then went to Nathaniel's leg.

"No, keep it away," Nathaniel ran out of reach. Fifi then targeted Zaine.

Zaine jumped to the side, and Filarion also made a couple of steps back.

"Gregory, you must prove yourself to us on this fine day. Many heroes had been crushed by rat walking quests. You must keep this small ball of nerves and rage away from larger dogs, other people's legs, and most importantly, keep it from pooping on the ground," Filarion told the boy, as Gregory stared at him in horror.

"How am I supposed to do that?" The teen whined, as his brothers chuckled from behind Filarion.

"It was good knowing you, Greg," Nathaniel, the cheeky bastard, said.

"Yes, Greg. You were a good brother," Zaine told him.

"Truly, if you fail, I will be disappointed, but save you," Filarion tried to assure him, but he was smirking.

"I won't fail! My pant leg is already wet, so is my ankle," now that Gregory said it, he felt the disgust well up inside of him. "I sacrificed too much to fail."

And Greg marched forward, closer to the trees, so Fifi could mark her territory. For something this small, she was an unending source of water. The teen wondered if her owner gave her gallons of water in preparation of her walks.

It all went well, until they entered the small park. Fifi's bulging eyes threatened to bulge out of their sockets, when she saw the bigger dogs. Gregory decided not to risk it, and took the dog in his arms.

Fifi didn't seem to like that because her teeth found his tunic.

"Look here, you demon," Gregory began, as he shook the dog until it let go of his sleeve. There were bite marks on the fabric, and Gregory wanted to throttle the rat. "Those dogs will eat you for breakfast. Besides, they haven't done anything to you. So, I will let you go, when we exit the park."

Gregory carried the barking nerve ball across the park, and apologized to all the dog owners who glared at him. When the park was behind them, Gregory placed the dog he was carrying down.

Fifi latched on his leg, and began to chew on it. Gregory wasn't thinking when he took the dog by the scruff of her neck, and shook her violently.

The whining sounds soon followed, and for once, Fifi looked afraid. Immediately, Gregory felt guilty.

"Sorry, Fifi," Gregory apologized to the chihuahua. He hugged her, and felt wetness on his chest. "Oh, come on!"

Gregory placed the dog down on the ground, and stared at the wet stain on his tunic.

"Where do you find all this liquid? Do you have a bottomless bladder?" Gregory asked. He was interrupted from speaking further by giggling from behind him. Finally, he remembered that he was not alone.

"Oh, is it funny?" Gregory took the dog, and approached the three. "Was it fun watching me get peed on twice?"

Something in his dark expression gave him away, and the three took off running. Filarion made it up a tree, but the other two decided to run in zigzag.

Gregory got an evil look in his eyes, and let go of Fifi's leash. The demon made a beeline for Zaine, and soon, the berserker had a chihuahua latched to his ankle. Little needle like teeth latched into his flesh.

"Don't harm the client," Filarion yelled, from his safe spot up on the tree. Ah, he had forgotten how good it was to just goof around.