“And we can go to the movies, and we can go on the Furris wheel,” Timby rattled on, tail wagging with excitement. To reward themselves for all the CIF pressure and drama, Timby and Buster were going to take a nice long vacation down at everyone’s favorite luxury getaway: The Irvine Spectrum.
“Yeah! Vaqy and Trogy have been telling me about the Furris wheel.”
“Vaqy? Trogy?” Timby asked, confused.
Buster nodded. “Vaqy the Vaquero and Trogy the Trojan. That’s what they call themselves. Wait. Why don’t I have a nickname like you guys? Does that make me ‘Busty’?”
The two blinked at each other for a solid two minutes. Then Busty said: “You know what, why don’t we invite them too! And Warry the Warrior.”
Timby’s face fell. He was hoping it would just be the two of them, but the way Buster’s eyes shone with delight rendered him unable to say no. It would be fine. He could handle it, seeing Buster laugh at Warry’s jokes or playfully paw at Trogy’s feathered helmet. Everything would go okay. Or so he thought.

FAST FORWARD 1 WEEK: Timby’s POV
Everything was not going okay. The couple hadn’t even met up with the other mascots yet, but the mere thought had Timby on edge.
“Buster, are you SERIOUS? You’ve been driving me insane all day. First, you forgot the premium WolfMeat Deluxe Snack bag at home. Now I’m starving. And then you forget our extra fur de-tangling spray. Literally, can you do one thing!” He glared at the bulldog who was rolling his eyes in protest.
“Why do I have to do everything?” Buster shot back. “Why don’t you be responsible for your own stuff? I’m not even into WolfMeat Deluxe.”
Timby didn’t notice his bristling fur and curled lip until he saw the look of fear on Buster’s face. His heart dropped to his stomach. He reached a silvery paw towards the purple dog, expecting Buster to take it between his own, but Buster flinched away.
“Buster, I-”
“Woah!” interjected the University High Trojan. “Is this guy bothering you? Lemme get between you guys,” he said with a tilt of his feather-helmeted head. Buster’s eyes darted between the wolf and the Trojan nervously before slipping behind the silver soldier.
And that was how they ended up wandering through the plaza on their own. Timby could hear the excited barks of Buster meeting up with the other schools at the theater. Who needs Buster! I’ll just go buy Fur spray on my own.
But the entire time, his ears drooped ever so slightly, feeling like his very own Helen was being stolen by the stupid Trojan.
Inside of Howllister, he was surprised to find a dusty cowboy hat in the clearance section. “Is this anyone’s?” he called. Suddenly, an odd horseman clopped in and whisked it out of his hands.
“I’ll be takin’ that from yer. Oh, you musta been that Wolf from Southwood er something. Where’s yer Doggy friend?”
Timby looked away uneasily.
The Vaquero chucked. “I see them lover’s quarrels all the time at Irvine. Kids these days. Wanna get sum yogurt with me?” Before he could say anything, Irvine’s mascot lassoed onto his tail and dragged him out of the shop.
Even with Timby’s protesting, he had more fun than he’d like to admit. After stopping at Yogurtland, they headed to 20-Fur Hour Fitness, got some gains and were now about to redeem 2048 tickets at Dave and Buster’s. (The name was a bit of a sore spot for Timby.) “You’re pretty cool, Mr. Vaqy.”
The cowboy laughed. “Call me, Vaq. Yer pretty cool yourself. Whattdya say we ditch this place and go on a real date?”
Timby’s eyes widened. “But Buster…”
His horse neighed impatiently. “C’mon, Doggy already forget boutcha. Notice how he hasn’t even called yer since this mornin’. Now, ya comin or not?”
The wolf was lost. Vaq’s outstretched lasso looked so tempting, and he was right. Buster hadn’t said anything, not even a single text since they had argued.

Will Timby go with Vaq? Will he and Buster make up? Will he ever get his Fur Spray or his WolfMeat Deluxe? And what kind of name is Trojy? Find out next time in (we probably won’t have another issue because this is going on too long) your imagination! Happy paw-ndering!