It had been another stress filled day at work. The boss had decided we needed to do team building exercises, which I always hated as it meant interacting with the entire work force. I loathed having to talk to people for hours at a time. Still, the day was over now, and I could spend an evening with Dashie. I stepped in the front door, and prepared the usual evening meal, when I noticed Dashie wasn't in the living room.

“Dashie?” I called out loud, but there was no response. I washed my hands in the sink and went to see if she was taking a nap. I walked over to her bedroom door, and found it pushed shut. I gently nudged it open and went inside, finding the room rather dark as the curtains were still drawn. I saw Dashie's figure behind the curtain, her rainbow tail dangling over the edge of the windowsill. She appeared to be talking to herself, so I made sure she knew I was there.

“Hey Dashie, what are you looking at?”

“Shh!” She said in a whispered tone, while still looking straight ahead. I slowly walked over and pulled the edge of the curtain back to see what she was doing, only to see a stray cat running away. Dashie let out a discontented moan as it disappeared over the fence, out of sight.

“Were you watching the cat, Dashie?” I asked her, as she jumped down from the windowsill.

“Yeah! It looked really cool. Can I go out and play with it next time?” She said hurriedly, her voice squeaking.

“No, that's probably not a good idea, darling.” I replied solemnly. “It was a stray, so might be dangerous. You're better off staying away from it in future.”

She looked up at me and dropped her head, walking out into the living room. I hoped I hadn't upset her too much, but it had to be said. I went back out to the living room, only to find Dashie was now staring out the window by the front door, murmuring to herself. I decided to leave her to it while I finished making dinner.  

“Dashie? Dinners ready.” I said to her as I sat down, placing her food on her favourite chair. She let out a sigh and jumped down from the window, slowly trotting over to her chair. She sat down and began to eat in silence.

“So, what did you do today, Dashie? Anything exciting?” I asked over a mouthful of food. She lifted her head to look at me and simply shook it from side to side, before carrying on eating. I turned on the TV hoping to cheer her up, but mainly to break the silence.

“Daddy, I'm lonely.” Dashie said suddenly. I turned to face her. She was now laying down on her stomach, curled around her plate, gently playing with her tail. I went and sat down next to her chair and gently stroked her mane.

“Why are you lonely Dashie? You've got me here.” I said, and began tickling her belly and underneath her wings. She squirmed and giggled, letting a smile spread across her face.

“I know Daddy, but I get lonely when you're not here. It gets scary sometimes too.” She said quietly. “That's why I was watching the cat, I wanted to let it in so I could play with it, and cuddle it. But I remembered the scary doggy, so I was watching it, to see if it was friendly.” She began to play with her tail again, stroking it with her hooves.

I was alarmed by Dashie's comments, but was glad she knew better than to let it in. However, I felt guilty as I watched Dashie sat alone, stroking her tail. I hadn't considered how much she needed a friend to talk to besides me. I had forgotten that just because I don't care to make friends, doesn't mean she would be the same.

I scooped her up in my arms and gently rocked her back and forth. She smiled at me, but still clutched her tail in her hooves. She eventually began to fall asleep as I rocked her back and forth, so I carried her to her bedroom and tucked her into bed. She awoke as I placed the covers over her, looking up at me expectantly.

“Don't worry Dashie, I'll sort out a friend for you. You get some sleep.” I kissed her gently on the head and turned out the light. Once I was sure she was sound asleep, I locked the house up and went out for a quick errand. I knew exactly what I was going to get her.

The next morning I snuck into Dashie's room, and gently woke her up. She rolled over, clutching her blanket in her hooves, she let out a yawn and smiled at me.

“Morning Daddy!” She said. “What's going on?”

“Come out into the living room Dashie, there's a friend waiting there for you!” I said to her. As soon as she heard the words, she leapt out of bed and ran into the living room, wings fluttering wildly. As soon as she got out there, she saw a box on the floor, and began to nudge it with her nose.

“What is it Daddy? Can I see?” She asked, running back and forth eagerly. I walked over to the box and gently lifted it up. Dashie's face went from excited to bemused.

“What's going on?” She said, scrunching her face up. I picked up the cuddly cat and placed it next to Dashie.

“Don't worry Dashie, this is just so you've got something to cuddle when you get lonely. Your real friend is over here!” I said, and walked over to a bigger box I had hidden behind the sofa. I carried it out and put it down in front of Dashie. Her eyes lit up as she looked at the tall box, and heard the sound of movement inside.

“Hehe, open it Daddy! Open it!” She said, sitting down on the floor, clutching her new cuddly toy in her hooves, a wide smile covering her face.

“Now, it might not be what you expected, but I'm sure you'll love it!” I said. Dashie looked at me, still smiling, and nodded her head.

I  took hold of the string on top of the box, and slowly lifted it up, revealing a bright green parakeet sat in it's cage, hopping back and forth. Dashie walked closer to the cage and tilted her head, a mild look of confusion on her face.

“Hello?” She said, watching the bird tilt it's head in response. The parakeet began to chirp and whistle back at Dashie. “Hehe! Tweet! Tweet tweet!” Dashie said back, mimicking the parakeets voice. She smiled and began flapping her wings, the parakeet responded in kind, flapping her wings in the cage.

“This is a parakeet Dashie.  She's going to be your new friend, but you need to think up a name for her! Any ideas?”

Dashie stood watching the bird, still smiling excitedly. “I'm gonna call her birdy!” She said, keeping her focus on her new friend, as she flew about in the cage.

“That's a lovely name for her, Dashie. But remember, she's delicate, so don't let her out of the cage, and don't jump about near her too much, she might get frightened!” Dashie nodded and walked around the cage quizzically.  “Also, if you talk to her enough Dashie, she might learn to talk back, so make sure you spend enough time with her, okay?” She looked at me, smiling wider than before.

“It can talk back!?”

“Yes Dashie, it might take a while, but she could speak to you one day, so be nice!” I joked. Dashie leapt up into my arms and began rubbing her head on my neck.

“Yay! Thank you Daddy, thank you so much! I love her!” I kissed Dashie gently on the head, and put her back down on the floor by the cage.

“You're welcome darling. Now, you get to know Birdy, while I get ready for work.”

I went to the bedroom and dressed for work, hearing Dashie making tweeting and chriping noises from the living room. She seemed a lot happier, and I hoped she would feel comfortable home alone now. Who knows, maybe one day, she could fly around with Birdy.

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