#calming parrots during earthquakes

[chelledoggo]

[Fanfic] Calm in the Storm [101 Dalmatian Street]

genre: slice of life, oneshot

age rating: all ages

content warnings: none

summary: When Dorothy wanders out of the bedroom during a thunderstorm, a frightened Deepak ventures through the dark house to make sure she’s okay.

CRAAAASSSSH!!!

A loud clap of thunder boomed from outside, seemingly shaking the entire house and snapping every pup from their slumber. The accompanying lightning strike took out a power line, causing the night light in the pups' bedroom to flicker out.

The result was a cacophony of screaming, yelping, and crying from a room full of terrified pups. Tiny dalmatians scrambled about from left to right within the chaos.

Deepak, who'd been awakened from a lovely dream about meditating by a koi pond, was particularly shaken, letting out a loud shriek as he jumped up in his hanging pod-bed. The pup peeked out to see a raging storm outside his window.

He gulped as he snapped out of his stupor and realized what was going on. Deepak always hated thunderstorms. He'd always had problems with anxiety and sensory overload, which is why he always preferred to spend his time in peace and quiet.

Deepak sat up in a yogic position, closed his eyes and tried to control his hyperventilated breathing. He began nervously whispering affirming mantras to himself.

“I am centered...I am still as a stone...My mind is clear as a tranquil pond...I-”

“ARMAGEDDON IS AMONG US!!” The familiar voice of Dante wailed from the middle of the room, causing a rise of even more shrieking from the little pups.

Deepak quietly growled to himself in frustration at the fact that his well-meaning yet paranoid goth brother was only further rocking the boat.

Within seconds, the two elder pups, Dolly and Dylan burst into the room. Dylan had a battery-powered lantern clenched in his teeth by the handle, which he sat down in front of him upon entering.

“Everyone okay in here?” Dolly inquired concernedly.

“Oh, yeah,” Dante replied dryly. “S'all good...except for the RAGING CATACLYSM OF DOOM JUST OUTSIDE OUR WINDOW!!”

The pups once again scrambled about in terror at Dante's outburst.

“Ugh, Dog gone it, Dante!” Dylan scolded. “Do you have to do this every time? Haven't we talked about this? You know you're traumatizing the pups!”

“Look, man. Don't shoot the prophet,” Dante snarked. “I didn't ask to be burdened with the curse of apocalyptic precognition.”

Before Dylan and Dante could get into a bickering match, Dolly created a diversion.

“Uhh, hey Dyl?” she interrupted. “Don'tcha think now would be a good time to set up the thunder tent?”

The panicked pups stopped in their tracks and perked up.

“Thunder tent?” one pup squealed excitedly.

“Thunder tent!” parroted another.

“Dylan's gonna set up the thunder tent!” a third pup yipped, causing the entire bedroom of pups to cheer.

Dylan turned around sheepishly. He was so caught up in scolding his brother that the thunder tent nearly slipped his mind.

“Heheh, yeah, of course!” he responded, as he began to scavenge around the room for pillows and blankets to use as tent-building material.

Deepak sighed in relief. The thunder tent always provided him with a sense of calm and security during thunderstorms. Right now he needed a nice, dark, comfy place to burrow up among his siblings and slip back into slumber.

After a few moments, a large and very cozy-looking blanket-tent took up the center of the bedroom. It was furnished with big, fluffy pillows and cuddly toys, and a battery-powered spinning projector lamp in the middle providing a soft pink starry glow.

Once the pups had all taken refuge in the tent, Dylan and Dolly took a quick head count.

“94, 95, 96...Ughhh, who are we missing?” Dolly groaned anxiously.

“...D-Dorothy!” Dylan yelped in panic. “Sh-she's somewhere in the house! We gotta go find her! C'mon, Dolly!”

The two elder pups were about to head out, when they were dragged back by their hind legs by Dizzy and Dee Dee.

“Don't go, guys!” Dizzy pleaded.

“We need you to stay here and protect us!” Dee Dee cried.

“Sorry, guys,” Dolly responded, “But we gotta get Dorothy in here.”

A chorus of “No”s and “Please don't go”s erupted from the huddled-up cluster of frightened pups.

Deepak hung his head down in worry. Dorothy was so small and fragile. She was probably off stumbling around in the dark. She could get hurt.

If the top dogs couldn't pull themselves away from the fray, then who was going to go make sure she was safe? None of the other pups were willing to part from the comfort of the thunder tent and brave their way through the darkened house with all the thunder clamoring outside.

The yin-yang pup took a deep breath. He knew what he had to do, even if he really didn't want to. He stood up and cleared his throat.

“Um...” Deepak stammered. “I...I'll go look for her...”

The two elder siblings looked over at Deepak in mild shock.

“Wow, Deepak,” Dylan piped up. “You sure? We all know how much you hate thunder.”

“W-Well...” Deepak replied. “Someone's got to do it. A-And the other pups need their big siblings to protect them right now.”

The two top dogs glanced at each other for a moment, contemplating whether or not it was a good idea to let him go.

“...Alright,” Dylan agreed. “Just be careful out there, okay?”

“You're a brave lil' guy, Deepak,” Dolly added with an encouraging smile, gently patting the small pup on the head. “Proud of ya, buddy!”

Deepak nodded and chuckled nervously. He took a deep breath and ventured out of the bedroom door.

The darkened halls of the London flat were lit only by the light of the moon and the occasional car lights and lightning flashes through the windows.

Deepak gulped and sucked in another deep breath, then began reciting his feline meditation mantras as he continued walking forward.

“M-Me...ow...ow...owww....meoww...wowww....w--”

CRAAAASSSSH!!!

Another burst of thunder caused a terrified Deepak to topple over onto his rump.

The frazzled pup took another breath to regain his composure.

“You can do this, Deepak,” he whispered to himself. “Dorothy needs you.”

He carefully made his way down the stairs, quietly meowing to himself as he went along.

He finally made it downstairs when he heard a faint whimpering sound coming from inside the kitchen.

“D-Dorothy?” Deepak called out softly. “That you?”

He tracked down the noise to the cupboard beneath the counter. He slowly opened the door to find Dorothy; a curled-up quivering ball of fur cowering in the dark cupboard corner.

The tiny baby pup looked over her shoulder to see Deepak's gentle face looking back at her. She whimpered as if to beckon him over by her side.

Deepak crawled into the cupboard.

“Thank the stars I found you,” he sighed in relief. “We should get you back up to bed, don't you think? Dylan has the thunder tent set up, and--”

CRAAAASSSSH!!!

Another clap of thunder shook the room, causing both pups to yelp in terror.

Dorothy shrunk back and shook her head feverishly. Once again, her entire tiny body was trembling like an earthquake.

“...I see,” Deepak responded. “You're afraid, aren't you?”

Dorothy nodded, her face cringing in fear as tears rolled down her fluffy white face.

“It's okay...” Deepak assured her, but then looked down at the floor in humility. “...So am I.”

Dorothy looked up at her older brother, tilting her head in confusion.

Deepak looked down at his wide-eyed baby sister. It was clear she wasn't going to budge. He gave the little pup a warm, loving smile.

“But...” he continued, “If we ride out the storm together, perhaps neither one of us will be quite as afraid. Don't you agree?”

Dorothy grinned and cooed happily at her brother's proposition.

Deepak crawled into the cupboard with her, leaving the door open just enough to let a little moonlight in. He curled up in the corner alongside the tiny white puppy, who snuggled up as close as she could to him.

“There,” Deepak said softly. “All comfy, Dorothy?”

The baby pup nodded and smiled up at her brother.

“Okay,” Deepak soothed. “Close your eyes.”

Dorothy gently shut her eyes. Deepak laid a paw on the small pup's head and began to softly stroke her fur.

“...and...breathe, little one,” he whispered.

He made soft, droning “ohm” sounds into her ear as he concentrated all the good vibes he could through his fingertips into every soft caress.

It wasn't long until both pups had fallen sound asleep in the cupboard corner. The sounds of the thunder outside felt like they were miles away as they both slumbered peacefully cuddled up together.

Meanwhile, back upstairs, the rest of the pups had also fallen asleep, but Dylan was still concerned over the whereabouts of the two missing pups.

“Hey, Dolly,” Dylan whispered. “Now that the pups are asleep, do you think you can go check on Deepak and Dorothy?”

“Sure thing, bro,” Dolly yawned as she got up and stretched.

She quietly walked out of the tent and headed downstairs. It didn't take long for her keen dog ears to pick up on the sound of soft snoring from the kitchen.

Surely enough, she'd found Deepak and Dorothy fast asleep in their hiding spot under the counter. She couldn't help but gush a bit at the sight of them serenely cuddled up together.

She gently picked each pup up by the scruff of their necks and carefully hoisted them onto her back. She then slowly ventured back up to the bedroom with the sleeping siblings in tow.

Dolly gently placed Deepak and Dorothy back together on one of the fluffy pillows laid out inside the thunder tent.

“Ya did a great job, Deepak,” Dolly whispered as she gently patted her sleeping brother's head.

“Sleep tight, puppers.”