Tsume blinked once at his spine, smothered her growl, resisted the urge to shove ahead of him, and let him cut a path. Kuromaru was, unsurprisingly, leaping around the okonomiyaki stand, heedless of the people around him.

"Oi!" She bellowed. "Pup!"

He wagged so hard his whole body serpentined, empty eyesocket violently red turning away until he could see her with his remaining gold eye. "You said--you said--!"

"I know, I know!" She fished out money, glancing at the terrified man behind the little counter. "Have you started fixing his order yet?"

The man just stared at her.

"Look, the faster you start working, the faster we go away, the faster you get business back."

He continued to stare at her.

Tsume padded to the counter. Leaned over. Smiled broadly enough to show off each and every too-sharp tooth. And said, "Do it."

The man lurched into motion. Kuromaru howled in his excitement and jumped up so his front paws were on the counter, and he could watch what was going on. On his hind legs, he was over six feet tall--and he had to stoop to keep his paws on the wood. Tsume reached sideways and scratched his belly. The wagging increased, but he didn't put all four feet on the ground.

She smiled over at the human pup. "So. You have a name, or have you decided to change it officially to rookie?"