Shooting Star

97 Line's Little Scare ~Part 2~

Eunha kept an eye out for any movement below her as she hovered in the air. She knew the howls came from somewhere near her but she didn't know the exact location. Her eyes wandered towards Yuju, who was watching from the water. Another howl made her eyes dart downwards, almost directly below her. She flew down quickly so she wouldn't lose the source of the high pitched noise. Eunha landed gently to avoid making any unnecessary noise. The pixie glanced around nervously trying to spot anything that seemed out of place.

"Hello?" Eunha's voice wavered as she called out into the unknown. A small whine from behind a bush was the only response she got. She walked slowly while preparing a mental escape route if all else failed. Eunha's heart rate increased the closer she got. She thought her heart would beat out of her chest once she finally reached the bush.

"Ya!" Eunha shouted as the shoved her hands through the bush to create an opening. With the leaves parted, she could see a small fuzzy animal sitting behind the bush. It was about the size of a kitten and its fur was white but some patches of mud made it appear multicolored. Eunha noticed the creature shaking and felt sorry for yelling at it.

"I'm sorry," She apologized to the little dog-like animal and went behind the bush. The pixie knelt down in front of it and held her fist out towards its nose. As expected, the animal sniffed her hand carefully before gently nuzzling Eunha's hand. The dog's fur tickled Eunha's hand which caused her to giggle lightly.

"Were you the one who kept howling?" Eunha kept her voice low so she wouldn't scare the dog off. One of the many perks of being a pixie was the ability to communicate with animals. The little dog made a noise somewhere between a bark and howl, which Eunha interpreted as a yes.

"Are you hurt? Is that why you were trying to get attention?" The dog held up its right paw towards Eunha and let out a small whine. There was a thorn stuck in its paw. The pixie gave the dog a sympathetic smile before pulling the thorn out quickly. The dog yelped and jumped away from Eunha. It began licking its paw in an attempt to lessen the pain.

"I'm sorry but now it won't hurt anymore," The creature whined lightly again as if to say 'But it hurts now'.

"Want to come back with me? I'm sure my friends will like you." Eunha said as she approached the dog again. She sat on her knees as she waited for the dog to decide. It walked slowly towards her before jumping into Eunha's lap. The pixie grabbed the dog and held it gently but tightly against her chest before flying back into the sky. From her viewpoint she could see Yuju waiting at the shore in the same place she was before. Eunha made sure to keep a strong hold on the puppy so it wouldn't slip from her arms as she flew towards the mermaid. Eunha landed in front of Yuju, whose eyes widened at the sight of the filthy pup in Eunha's arms.

"This was the 'murderer' that scared us with its vicious howl," Eunha said with a teasing smirk mentioning Yuju first thought when something scary happens. The mermaid held her hands out to Eunha, who handed her the dog immediately. Yuju placed the dog in the water and began scrubbing away the mud that was making the puppy's fur knot together. Once all of the mud was washed away, Yuju set the dog back onto the shore. It shook its body to try and get rid of the excess water. Eunha and Yuju both got splashed in the process and began laughing as the dog rubbed its nose with its paw.

"Do you think Sowon will let us keep it?" Yuju questioned as she gently moved the puppy's fur away from its eyes. Eunha hummed as she thought about it. 

"I don't know. She might not because Umji's allergic," Eunha pouted as she thought about the possibility of having to get rid of the puppy she just saved.

"Does it have a name?" Yuju suddenly changed the topic to distract her friend from the sad possibility. The dog let out a soft bark which Eunha knew meant no. Eunha shook her head towards Yuju as she scratched the dog's ears. 

"Well then, let's pick one! Is it a boy or girl?" Yuju said excitedly. 

"He's a boy," Eunha said. They thought about names for a while. Most of Yuju's suggestions were shot down by Eunha because they were strange. 

"Let's call him Baby," Eunha said. Yuju looked at her strangely before speaking.

"But if you say 'Baby, come here' Sowon might come over instead," Yuju said with such seriousness that Eunha became embarrassed.

"No she- You act like- Ugh! Why would Sowon respond to that!" She shouted at Yuju as her chubby cheeks became red. Yuju shrugged and smiled innocently before she began listing off more weird names.

"Let's call him Nugget. Or we can call him Ramen. Oh, let's name him Pork Chop!" Yuju kept saying names of food and Eunha just glared at the mermaid in front of her.

"Yuju... Just stop," Eunha finally ended Yuju's food naming spree and began thinking of names on her own. 

"Let's name him Waffle!" Yuju's sudden yell caused Eunha's train of thought to completely derail. The pixie gave up and sighed.

"Ok... Waffle it is," Eunha glanced towards the dog and was surprised to see it jumping around and wagging its tail excitedly.

"See, Waffle loves his new name!" Yuju pointed to the dog who was currently prancing around happily and letting out small barks of joy. They both smiled at each other as they wondered why they were so scared of such a cute dog, even though they didn't know it was so cute at first.