Alex was ecstatic.
Max was the perfect pet.
He was obedient. Loyal.
Fierce.
Alex truly enjoyed training with Max and it was something he felt he would never get tired of.
Max was his best friend.
Sure, he had a twin but his twin was a girl. There were just things you just don't share with your sister. Or, perhaps, it was due to the fact that both of them had completely different temperaments and most of all, his sister was 'Daddy's Girl'.
Their close relationship was such that he didn't resent her for it, or hold it against her (just as she didn't with him being so antagonistic towards their father), but undoubtedly, it created a thin layer of … indifference between them.
They were closer than normal siblings but not as close as what twins were normally reputed to be.
Alex shouted at Max while pointing at the wooden dummy a few metres away, "Go!"
The wooden dummy was a mannequin that was quite human-like; unlike the (shiny) faceless and bald mannequins one finds in stores nowadays.
This wooden mannequin was not so realistic like a human being, but it was close. What was unique about it is that the mannequin had joints like a human, and had to be put together like a puzzle.
The reason for this was because any part that had worn out, or was broken, could simply be replaced. One did not have to replace the entire mannequin.
This was specially made for Max's training, so that he could target specific areas properly.
Max looked at where Alex was pointing and dashed out, jumping up and biting the mannequin at the shin, growling in his throat as he bit as hard as he could.
"Back," Alex shouted and Max let go, while trotting back to Alex. Alex throw a chunk of raw meat at him and he jumped, catching it neatly and chewing happily.
Alex had a set of one-word commands for Max, and it was coupled with hand movements. Earlier, 'Go' denoted that Max was to attack and Alex would point where.
There were basically three directions: downwards at a 30 degrees angle meant the shin. Upwards at a 45 degrees angle meant the arm while more than that meant the neck.
Of course, Max was still too small to actually be able to jump high enough to attack the neck of an adult person, so the mannequin was actually child-size.
"Why do you use the command Go, rather than Attack?" Aurora asked him as Max started playing with Iori.
"Because I don't want the enemy to know I am telling him to attack," Alex explained.
"Er, duh? Sooner or later, they'll know," Aurora said.
"The command 'Go' actually has two different instructions," Alex told her, "If I said 'Go' while pointing, then it means attack. Without the added hand commands, it simply means that he has to run ahead."
Aurora stared at him, "Max is that clever?"
Alex gave a smirk that was so much like their father's, and said, "Of course, because he's my pet."
Aurora rolled her eyes, "So shameless."
"Well, at least *that* is something I admit runs in the family," Alex muttered.
"Well, at least Daddy does it with finesse," Aurora replied, raising her eyebrows.
"You're just biased," Alex accused.
"While you're prejudiced," Aurora countered.
"Whatever," Alex said, motioning to Max to come over.
Max gave one final push and nip to Iori before bouncing over.
"One thing's for sure," Aurora mumbled as she watched Max come over, "He's really like you, in wolf form. Right now, he looks like a doofus yet earlier, he's disciplined and fierce. When training with you, he just looks wild."
"Doofus? DOOFUS?"
"Face it, Alex," Aurora said, as she turned to face him, "To others, your resting face may be suave and cool but to me, it's rather dorky."
"It's like, 'nothing is in my head right now' sort of face," Aurora finished with a grin.
Alex's eyes narrowed.
Aurora wasn't a fool. The moment the last words were said, she had already turned on her heels and ran for her life - with Alex chasing. Max and Iori, naturally, joined the fun.
Kyle, seeing this, smiled.
"Kyle, my love," Sayuri said softly next to him, her fingers lightly touching his arm.
Kyle stiffened his back, his instincts telling him to run!
"Ah, I just remembered something!" he exclaimed suddenly, with his right hand in a fist punching his left palm.
He then gripped the balcony railings and was just about to jump over when the soft voice continued, "Try it if you dare."
Kyle's movement stopped and he sighed, leaning back on the balcony and faced his wife with the most innocent look he could muster, "Try what?"
She walked in front of him, pinched his cheeks hard and said, "Tomorrow. You and me. Shopping."
Urgh.
Kyle hated shopping.
He may have been a woman in his past life, but he still hated shopping. Who said all women loved to shop? He certainly didn't (unless it was to a bookstore) then and he certainly didn't now.
"Oh, don't give me those puppy eyes," Sayuri said, "Alex gets Max, I get you at my beck and call for a day."
"And..before you try to wheedle your way out of this, I have already checked with Sam. He cleared all your appointments tomorrow," Sayuri said with a smile.
"Traitor," Kyle said under his breath.
"Eh? What's that? You are so happy that you are adding a day?" Sayuri said with her eyes wide in surprise and gave him a peck on the lips, "My love, you shouldn't have and I accept. Two days it is."
Kyle sighed.
He walked straight into that one.
"Two days it is," Kyle agreed, then hugged his wife, "For you, anything. Even shopping."
"Remember the deal, my love," Sayuri said, "It's not just shopping but you promised that you are to be at my beck and call completely."
Kyle frowned, "Aren't I always?"
Sayuri gave a small smile, "Oh, we'll see."
Kyle raised an eyebrow.
Just what did his mischievous wife have planned?
It certainly didn't sound like it was just going to be the Hellish Shopping Spree.
He just hoped it wasn't going to be something worse than that. Knowing his wife, though...it may certainly be. Otherwise, why would she remind him about the 'follow whatever she says' agreement?
Now he didn't know whether he should dread the day or not.
That night, Kyle found out just how much his wife had been preparing for the day as he read the list that had been handed to him.
It was all instructions for what he should do, at a particular time, throughout the day.
It wasn't a really long list nor was it really that detailed but it was enough to let him know that she had put a lot of thought into this.
He pursed his lips a bit and then looked up at his wife who was brushing her hair.
"Do I not pay enough attention to you?" he asked, genuinely worried.
There were things on the list that made him feel like his wife felt like that. Things like, 'follow her everywhere without complaint', 'do things without question'.
The first one already made him raise an eyebrow as it was to pamper her with wake-up sex.
Sayuri looked at him from the mirror and smiled, "It's not that, my love, but you can't deny that we are rather busy and have set routines everyday."
She turned around while tilting her head, "Plus, we discuss everything like a proper couple. I just want a day where I am in full control and dominate you completely. You follow me like an obedient puppy."
"And the wake-up sex?" Kyle mused, "Is our sex life that boring now?"
Sayuri stood up, walked over to him and kissed his chin, "It's not that it's boring, my love."
She ran her tongue along his jawline and whispered in a low, sultry voice, "I am very, very satisfied with our lovemaking sessions. I just want something different, and spontaneous. Like how it used to be before we had the kids."
"You mean, because we only do it in the bedroom?" Kyle asked with a raised eyebrow, his voice getting a bit hoarse as those sinful lips and tongue were paying close attention to his neck and collarbone.
"Partly," Sayuri replied, unbuttoning his shirt, "Partly also because we only do it at night."
After all, they're so busy during the day. Kyle wouldn't normally work overtime, but he certainly wasn't home from the moment he sent the kids until dinnertime at 6pm (as the kids were picked up by Sayuri).
Kyle's hands were already on Sayuri's butt, kneading them while his head was still clear enough to catch the key words.
She missed the fact that they used to do it anywhere in the house.
She didn't want to just do it at night.
They were going to be out the whole day tomorrow.
Kyle gulped as he thought of what Sayuri truly wanted to do the next day - other than shopping, that is.
"Are you saying that you want to…" Kyle began, but she put her finger on his lips and shook her head.
"No asking, no spoiling the surprise," she said softly as her other hand reached down into his pants and grabbed hold of his c*ck, stroking it.
Naturally, Kyle didn't ask anymore. Talking was the last thing on his mind, after all, as he kissed her deeply.