Something Wild --- A "Pete's Dragon" Fanfiction

Chapter 5

Not far away from where Ayodele was, in the deeper parts of the woods, someone was going on his own walk, with a lookout also in mind. Though the object of his search was something quite different.

"Where, oh where could Pete be?" Kevin wondered aloud, his eyes looking around at everything he passed. A tree someone could be hiding behind. A rock to hide beneath...

Somewhere in the undergrowth, there was a quiet giggle, and the bushes behind the boy shook. Kevin grinned mischievously, and he turned around. Even through the knot of leaves and branches, he could not miss the dark shape inside. "Found you!" he cried gleefully. "Come on out, now."

The bushes shook again, and out popped out a very messy Pete. There were twigs and bits of trampled leaves strewn all over his body, but he dismissed it all with a big wide smile. "Did you find Elliot?" he asked, grinning up at his brother.

"Nope, but I'm sure he's around here somewhere," Kevin replied with a smile. In their time with Elliot and Branch (the latter of whom was off looking for berries, and had not joined in their game of hide-and-seek), they'd long since learned about the dragons' amazing ability to turn invisible. As such, they were the best hiders by default.

But the boys were equally good seekers, so they were not all discouraged by the fact. "Shall we try by the river?" Kevin asked.

Pete nodded enthusiastically, but then he frowned, looking at something behind Kevin. The older brother turned, and his expression darkened as well.

It was an old grizzly bear, one who was particularly grumpy and unfriendly to everything in the forest. The boys were not an exception. It bared its black lips back in a snarl, and reared back onto its hind legs, to make it look bigger than it actually was. Swiping its paws through the air, the bear opened its jaws, and roared loud and menacingly.

Kevin and Pete just stared with exasperated expressions. But the bear wasn't going to go until one of them scared it away. "I'll do it," Pete said with determination, and Kevin nodded and backed away, letting his brother step up to the challenge.

One had to admire Pete's bravery. He spaced apart his legs, clenched his fists, and...

"Raaaaaaawr!" Out came Pete's answering roar. It was a good effort, if not exactly intimidating. At the same time, unnoticed by the boys, Elliot popped his massive head from out of the canopy of tree leaves behind them, staring curiously at the scene.

For the bear, that was quite enough. With a whimpering growl it fell back on all fours and raced away into the forest. Pete smiled, extremely pleased with himself. From the sidelines, Kevin clapped, applauding his brother. Both boys turned around and grinned when Elliot lumbered over to them with thudding footsteps.

"Hi, Elliot!" Pete said gleefully, and the big green dragon hummed and growled playfully, rearing up onto his back legs and flapping his giant wings, creating a huge gust of wind that blew strongly through the leaves. The breeze almost knocked the boys down, only making them laugh more.

The pines began to shake abruptly, and out came Branch, his muzzle stained with gooey red juices from the berries he was chewing on with intense pleasure. "Lick your lips. They're all red," Kevin chided him, and giggled when his friend rolled his tongue around in an attempt to get it all.

Six years in the forest had seen much growth in Kevin and Pete. They were no longer the tiny, frightened boys that they once were. Pete was now ten years old, soon to be eleven, and Kevin, now seventeen, was transitioning from boy to young man. Puberty had not hit him quite as hard as it often does with other teenagers, fortunately (although some of the effects had taken some time getting used to).

In their minds, Kevin and Pete were still very much kids. Older, maybe, but they were still amazingly innocent individuals, despite their tragedy years before. Elliot and Branch had become their new family. Brothers, fathers, pets, and friends, all rolled up into a single package. They could not ask for anything better.

"Let's go play in the river!" Pete cried with excitement, and rushed for the water. Instinctively, Kevin ducked his head, as Elliot jumped over him and bounded after his charge. Branch regarded the pair with quiet amusement, and Kevin looked at him expectantly. "Come on, you know you want to," he said with a grin.

The horned dragon just snorted, but he couldn't quite hide his eagerness. With a roll of his eyes, Kevin ran off after his brother, laughing while he did, his big green guardian thudding after him with a loud bellow.

*****

The boys and their dragons had quite the time from that point forward. A playful splash through the stream soon turned into a wild romp through the woods, which inevitably led to another game of hide-and-seek, this time with Branch participating.

Towards noon, they momentarily stopped for lunch, feasting on their usual meal of berries, mushrooms, and whatever wild greens the forest had to offer them. Kevin and Pete never ate meat, taking after the dragons, who would never harm another living creature that they encountered (the strict vegetarians reading this would be proud).

No sooner did lunch end were the boys and dragons back to playing again, this session bringing only a few minor mishaps. Sometimes, Elliot would get his tail stuck in a knot of trees that were growing too close together; other times, Branch would find his horns suddenly entangled in a cluster of branches growing from the trunks of the pines. Whatever happened, however, the boys were always ready to lend a hand, and everyone got back to whatever game that they had been playing beforehand shortly after.

They were still going at it by the time the afternoon came, and the sun was touching the tops of the trees. They might have continued further, but Elliot's stomach called for a halt to the fun when it demanded more food. Pete decided to go with him to gather greens, though was a bit reluctant to leave Kevin and Branch by themselves.

"Don't worry, we can have our own fun while you're gone," Kevin assured Pete. Branch trilled and nodded in accordance. Waving goodbye as Pete and Elliot left the clearing, the two went out on their own adventure for the evening.

"Let's go find something interesting," Kevin suggested as they walked. "There's all kinds of things we can look for. Treasure, a hidden cave..."

Branch grunted something unintelligible, and Kevin rolled his eyes. "No berries! You're going to eat all the berries in the woods at the rate you're going."

The horned dragon laughed in his throat, not taking Kevin seriously as always. Their pace was casual, not really in any hurry, until all of a sudden Branch stopped, and bristled.

"What's wrong?" Kevin asked, but then he heard the sound of bushes being shaken, and he dropped to the ground, suddenly tense. Branch, too big for anything to cover him effectively, quickly turned invisible, as if he never existed in the first place.

Kevin pulled himself together enough to peek his head up and see what was there. His eyes widened at what he saw. A young, redheaded girl, who looked to be about his age, walking through the woods. She was dressed in green clothing, and along her neck, there was something that looked like part of a drawing. The rest was obscured below the neckline by her clothes.

The girl didn't seem to notice him, and walked past him and Branch. She was moving with purpose - but what purpose exactly? And more importantly, who was she?

It was only when the girl was farther away that Kevin dared to come out. Behind him, Branch shimmered back into visibility, and craned his head down beside his charge. He sniffed the air cautiously, then looked at Kevin.

The boy's attention was on the girl, his expression contemplating. A few moments went by with silence. Then, he took some hesitant steps, becoming more purposeful as he followed the trail after the girl. Branch, now very worried, whined nervously, but followed suite, making sure to stay close.