PA 3.5: End of a Tail

Chapter XX Part II

With a nervous sigh, the terrier winced his eyelids apart as if letting them adjust to a bright light. Before him he saw his captain, body stoically standing in much of the same way it was before, but with a set of tears running down the husky's face. Sparky was sniffling back mucus that came with the welling emotions, and his visage was stretched in all directions as both his frown and pleading gaze were made as wide as they could be.

"Uh..." was all Rover managed to get out before Sparky freed his paws. The meter-thick bundle of wood could barely clatter against itself before Sparky strode forward and gripped him with a bear hug. Rover practically started choking from the literally bone-shattering grip of the enormous dog as he was lifted off the ground; it was a miracle his head didn't instantly pop.

"Rover don't beat yourself up! You're big mouthed, but that's what everyone loves about you! You're honest, and you're a really funny dog!"

"Ghhllk!" Rover choked, instinctively telling Sparky to loosen his grip a little.

"I always pick you first when I'm team captain, not just because we're friends, but because you're so enthusiastic, no matter what we score, or how we do!"

Rover couldn't find the words. His self-doubt began to evaporate under the waves of joy and appreciation the husky gave him.

Suddenly, Sparky pulled back, still holding Rover by the shoulders. "You remember when we went all seven innings without scoring a single point? Everyone was kicking themselves and blaming me for picking 'bad' players. I felt awful - just really angry - but you were so joyful! That day, you taught me that it wasn't winning that mattered, it was being happy with myself, no matter how many people ignored me, or how many times I failed."

He pulled his paws off of the dog's shoulders, continuing, "Ironically... you taught me that... I know we haven't really spoken to each other much out of gym class, but, I'm really glad you decided to come here with me."

Sparky took stock of the dog; Rover was on the verge of joyful tears after receiving praise from his role model. His tail was wagging a million miles a minute, and his cheeks were going rosy from embarrassment.

"Thank you," Sparky said, placing his paw on his hip and wiping the wet from his eyes.

Rover could only smile. "I'm not sad, you idiot..." He let his eyes wander down to the leaf-strewn ground, then shifted them to the side, "I'm just worried-" stopping when his eyes landed on a nearby cluster of trees.

"Say, how about we bring these back, then we use that big branch to play fetch or something, eh?" Sparky suggested, smiling.

Rover's head was fixated to the left, staring at something. His eyes widened, and his body began to freeze, then quiver in terror.

Sparky's heart froze in his chest. He remembered that look from the day prior.

The husky's body turned with a rough, doubtful motion that emulated a dying machine. His heterochromatic gaze followed, confirming the dog's fears as the rest of his head, torso, then legs moved to face the figure standing amongst the foliage, shrouded in tendrils of dark.

The wind picked up, scattering leaves from the canopy and sending them awry, just for a moment revealing the twisted toothy smile gleaming amongst the shadows. Its head rose up, letting the two dogs plainly see the singular grey eye illuminated by the light cracking past the leaves. Sparky could barely hear the monster lightly cackling.

Saliva ran down Sparky's throat, his eyes dried up, his feet and paws shivered in the cold, and his chest felt like broken glass was being ground up inside of it.

The wind became louder, screeching before finally coming to a crescendo. Like the cracking of a whip, the world came into motion.

"ROVER!!" Sparky yelled, leaping towards him a moment before a searing grey beam smashed past the duo right where the terrier had been. The magic cleaved through a set of trees, letting them fall with a crackling of wood, a sound that no doubt alerted Coco.

Sparky got up as soon as he could, grasping Rover by the shoulder and lifting him alongside himself. The husky turned his gaze towards the figure, attempting to tell where the next attack would land.

His muscles steeled themselves, and his whole body coiled up as he wrapped his arms and paws around Rover's body, getting ready to leap out of the way with him.

The monster took a step forward, its left leg coming out of the shade as Mitt's wand glowed with eerie grey light, illuminating the monster's white-furred bruised cheek before the sparks fizzled out. "So you think it's funny, do you?!" the creature muttered, taking another step forward and fully illuminating itself.