Snow glittered on the forest floor. Nearby, an ice covered stream shimmered in the daylight. Two Skull Dogs raced in the distance.
"Stop running and let me catch up, Hollow!" The purple one whined, giving a pouty look on her face.
"Never! You're such a cry-puppy, Echo!" Hollow replied, grinning.
"I'm not a cry-puppy!" Echo skidded to a halt and stamped her paw. Suddenly, a twig snapped, making Hollow jump in fear. "You're a scaredy cat!" Echo stated, matter-a-factly. A large shadow loomed over her.
"Uh oh…" Hollow's grin disappeared.
"Aren't you two supposed to be protecting something? Hmm?" Rudy's fierce gaze burned the back of Hollow's head.
"Um…. We were just-" Echo started to explain.
"You were just what? Fooling around? You're supposed to be guarding your human, Echo! And you!" Rudy growled, his lips drawn back into a snarl. He turned to Hollow, and their eyes locked. "You are supposed to be guarding these woods!" Rudy muttered, "disgrace" Then nudged Echo towards the faint cobble path.
"But Rudy,!" Echo tried to protest. Rudy covered her mouth with his tail, then dug his claws in the ground.
"Come on, let's get you back to your human" Rudy smiled softly. Rudy gave Hollow one last glare, then they ran off towards the school next to the woods.
"Rudy always ruins everything," Hollow thought, rolling his eyes. "It's so unfair. I don't want to 'guard these woods' anymore! You never get any company and all of the offerings are Crackers!" Hollow's rage filled his lungs. He yelled, "WHAT IS WITH THOSE STUPID CRACKERS ANYWAY?!" Hollow realized what he had done. He covered his mouth with his paws. Out of nowhere, a dark blue skulldog appeared, her fur looked soft and sleek, she was obviously large, but walked around as light as a feather.
"Hello. I am Crescent. You asked why the local humans leave out….um… crackers?" Her gaze was loving, yet it looked fierce at the same time.
Hollow shrugged. "I guess-"
"Great! You'd better get comfortable!" Crescent laughed. Hollow sat down one the wet forest floor. It had rained that morning, but Echo and him had decided to play in the rain. Echo slipped into the ice covered river and fell in. Hollow hoped that Echo wasn't sick, otherwise Rudy wouldn't let them play together anymore. It's not like the big grump ever did let them. "Okay, this story takes place in a forest- this forest to be exact."
"Cool-" Hollow blurted out.
"Hush up!" Crescent snapped, her tone angry.
Hollow shut his muzzle. "Anyway, there was once a little girl that came here with her dog. Her father had built her a tree-house to play in. She and her dog loved to go into the tree-house and play. They played Tag, hide and seek, family, you name it. But one rainy, stormy afternoon, the girl and her dog went up to the forest, they played from 6:30 am till 9:00 pm. But when it was late and dark, they didn't return. The poor, worried father searched and searched for her, but they still couldn't find her or her dog. He went home, heart broken, and decided to tell the neighbors. They told everyone that if they could, look for her. One older man found the dog's collar, but it was worn and ripped. They cut off the search, and the little girl or her dog were never seen again…"
"What about the crackers?" Hollow asked, a bit annoyed.
"What crackers? Oh, those crackers. People leave crackers because it was the little girl's favorite snack" Crescent's smile died down, and a tear ran down her cheek.
"I was the little girl…." Crescent whispered, so softly, that even a mouse would have trouble hearing it.
"I'm so sorry…" Hollow gave her a sympathetic look. "Crescent is the little girl? Wow. I would of never thought!"
"I died because I fell in the stream… me and Willow were playing pirate, and I slipped on the rocks, and fell in…. Willow tried to help me, but she couldn't…" Crescent confessed.
Hollow curiously asked, "Do you know where Willow is now?"
"She's…. She's dead.. After I died, she got scared and ran away, but she ran onto the open road… Willow got hit by a car.. But the driver didn't want to admit it…" Crescent tried to not cry, but it was hopeless. "Goodbye, I need to go…" Crescent bowed her head, then disappeared.
"Goodbye…" Hollow frowned. Crescent was great company. Too bad she only came once a week.
Hollow yawned. It was time to sleep. He curled up onto his cozy leaf pile, then closed his eyes.
YOU ARE READING
🌲🍄The SkullDogs Of Falcon Woods🍄🌲
FantasyJoin Hollow and his friends as they go on exciting adventures, and learn new things about the mysterious world they are faced with.
