Arrow Lake What are people but deaths that haven't happened yet?

The pup's strike sailed harmlessly past Mahler's whiskers and was rewarded with a series of rumbles through his bones. Unlike touch, Dragomir seemed especially fond of this sensation; an infant's soundless chortle bubbled his lips into a weak smile and he calmed in an instant. He sought to reach out with pudgy paws for the man's nose, but then he was turned over onto his belly and could no more reach the stars than he could Mahler's face.

With a concerned peep, Dragomir began nosing around the floor, looking very much like he was doing just as Mahler instructed. For once, however, he wasn't mouthing soil. He knew the warm visitor was still there, and sought only to find some part of him to suck on.