We'd gotten him on my sixth birthday.
My parent got him in place for their company. I got him because I wanted a forever friend.
Instead of it just being me, it was now me and him.
And we did everything together. Played by the fire place, make pretend adventures in the manor.
Sometimes I would put plates out for him during tea time. However when the servants found out, they scolded me. And of course I continued doing it behind their back. Dutch holds more importance. Obviously.
So it came as a shock that near my sixteenth birthday, Dutch began acting differently.
There would be times when I'd wake up in the middle of the night to find him missing. I once found him shivering in the hallway clearly in pain, when I neared him, he growled at me. It was completely and utterly feral.
I couldn't just tell my parent's. Knowing them they'd just make me get rid of him. At worst— kill him. It was grime.
You could imagine my terror when the next few nights it was repeated. However, this time, he was nowhere to be seen. And when I awoke in the morning it was like nothing happened.
The day of my birthday, even after the morning came, I couldn't find him. Despite this, I wasn't allowed the luxury of panicking. Despite my mind racing and my stomach pooling with dread, I went along with everything that was previously arranged. The ball, the feast. Only escaping during the after party.
Imagine my surprise when I got back to my room and on my bed was the object of my worry.
There laid my only friend, painting and growling, obviously out of it. Taking Dutch's lack of reaction as incentive, I sat beside him, combing my finger through his fur. An act I'd normally do subconsciously.
Almost immediately after my fingers touched his body he yelped, gut wrenching screams one after another. He bones crackled simultaneously. Underneath his skin, they dragged against each other, creaking as they did so. I'm not sure how but he grew in size. It wouldn't stop.
I backed up against the headboard, watching but not doing anything. Tittering on the edge of comforting him, and running for my parents.
Nothing I could do would take away from the pain he was experiencing. If anything It might just count as a hinderance.
It wasn't unfounded but he transversed the cracking and molding of bones, now amassing a slew of bodily characteristics.
A ghastly sight to behold.
I don't remember what happened after this. I'm sure I fainted.