Life With A Paris: Adventures in Canine Vision He didn't know how long he'd been away from his home. His mommy had left him again, but he hadn't wanted her to. He wanted to go with her, no matter where she went or what she was doing, he wanted to be there. Daddy always said he had to take care of his Mommy, and he wasn't about to be left behind. He'd jumped up against the door, even though in the back of his mind he knew that if his people had been there he'd have heard, "Delta, no!" but they weren't there, so it didn't count. It had surprised him when the door slid open for him, and he had run back into his home, hiding behind the sofa, watching to see if anyone was going to come through. When no one arrived, and the doors slid shut once more, he made his way back over to them, a little more cautiously this time. Once again they slid open, and this time, gathering his courage, he had shot through, out into the corridor. Mommy had been there recently, he could still smell her, so nose to the ground he began following her scent. He concentrated so hard upon that familiar smell, he didn't see the doors in front of him until he was stopped cold, his ears plastered to his forehead, a dull ache from where he hit. His mommy had gone through these doors too, so he jumped up, and they opened for him.  He smiled his doggy grin and walked into the little box behind the doors, which shut behind him. He sniffed around slowly, and realized that although his mommy had been here, there was no way out. He whimpered softly, sitting down and staring at the walls of the box in confusion for a moment until, with a lurch, the box began to move. He cried out, running to a corner and cowering until the movement stopped and the doors opened.  Two people he didn't know walked in, and he couldn't resist sniffing them quickly before darting through the now closing doors. Once outside, he blinked in surprise. There was no scent of his mommy in this place... and he'd never been here before... but oh, something smelled good! Turning in the direction that good smell was coming from, he made his way down the corridor, glancing up in interest at all the people he passed. He found the source of the scent to be a large open room, filled with even more people.  Oh, my, did his tail begin wagging then.  A very high woman, with hair the colour of his, stood in his way, so he wagged his tail harder. She smelled a little metallic, a bit like the doors and walls of his quarters, but she also smelt a little like his daddy. This metallic woman barely even glanced at him, so he sat down for a moment to consider what he should do. The answer was clearly spoken to him from that part of his mind that would always be young, what would any good dog do when a person is ignoring them?  So he jumped on her. Her vocalization hurt his ears and he slunk back for a moment, but she still wasn't petting him, so he jumped again, knocking her to the ground. Climbing upon her stomach (oh, but wasn't it different from his mommy's! The metallic woman had a flat tummy, not as much fun to sit on, but good leverage!), his paws rested upon her chest, and even though he was slipping and sliding off her body, he managed to cover her face in doggy kisses. Oh, boy did he like to lick people, they all tasted so salty and different! She was saying something to him again, so he listened hard. "Get off me, now! Comply! I said, comply!" He cocked his head to the side, she sounded like she was getting angry. He didn't like angry. He slunk back slowly, wondering why the metallic woman's face made that funny expression as his claws caught in the fabric she had on her body and he ripped holes in the area of the places she wasn't flat. "Ensign Kim, I require your assistance." He turned his head, seeing the person that his daddy liked to play with. Oh, now he was excited. His tail was wagging so hard he could feel his entire body moving, and he began to run towards the friend. "Delta, no! Down!" He stopped in his tracks, sitting down, looking at the friend with hurt eyes, his head cocked to the side.  "Ensign Kim, what is this creature?" He watched as the friend helped the metallic woman to her feet and they both turned to look at him. Abashed, he wagged just the tip of his tail, waiting to see what they would do. "That's Tom and B'Elanna's dog, Delta, Seven." "It is a brutish animal. It has damaged my clothing. I must return to the Cargo Bay and change." He watched as the friend's eyes found the rips in the metallic woman's fabric, and the friend's skin turned a funny red colour. Bored now, he turned away from the people and walked into the big room from where the good smell was emanating.  A few of the people leaned down and petted him, all of which he accepted gratefully, his tail wagging calmly. All the while his eyes scanned the room for that glorious smell. He moved towards a small wall in the middle of the room, jumping up. FOOD!  Oh, yes!! That's what that smell was, people food! Oh, how he loved people food! Before anyone could stop him, he burried his face into the first pile of food he could reach and began to eat quickly. A funny looking person came running out from behind the wall, waving something in the air. Frightened, he jumped back, finding something hard and not moving behind him. Sitting down, he looked up, seeing a large man-person blocking his way. His face had a funny mesh of lines on one half; he'd never seen that before. He looked closer, but the man-person never moved; he just seemed to stare down at him. He wondered, suddenly, if this really was a man-person, or if it was instead a funny looking pole of some sort. Again his doggy mind took over and told him that there was only one way to really find out. He had already done it before he realized that the funny little tingle in his tummy meant he had to use the litter box. The pole-man moved then, looking down at his wet pant leg and soaked shoes, and Delta suddenly became very, very afraid. He turned quickly and ran out of the big room, making his way towards the moving box, which, in retrospect, wasn't quite that scary after all. The doors to the box mercifully opened for him, and he sat inside, shuddering with fear. He didn't like that pole-man, no, not at all. He didn't like the metalic woman either, she wasn't warm and soft like Mommy. He wanted his mommy and daddy.. now! He laid down and began to whimper, barely looking up as the box moved, then stopped, and the door opened.  He just wanted to go home. End.