The Pack (HIATUS)

Chapter 3 - Speculation

The green butterfly fluttered through the air, leading the young pup to who-knows-where. Flying over small streams and thick bushes, the pup followed, earning scrapes and scratches along the way. 

The butterfly landed on a white flower, glistening in the sun like a pearl shimmering under the light of the sun above water. The little pup observed the butterfly, as it slowly flapped its wings, busy sucking nectar from the white flower. The little pup bent their knees, getting ready to pounce on the insect. 

The little pup jumped and tried to catch the butterfly within their paws. The little bug flew away, making the pup miss its target. The pup landed on the ground and pouted, annoyed that they weren't able to catch the insect. The pup huffed and turned away, instantly giving up on catching that small bug. 

After the failed chase, they lost concentration of their direction and began to walk. They haven't anticipated that they would have to stumble upon a bump on the ground. Their body halted in the air as their two front paws collided with a solid tree root. "Shoot," they muttered as they stumbled down, but instead of just rolling onto the ground, they hurdled down a grassy hill, feeling the pricks of the pebbles and small rocks scattered on the grass. "Ouch! Aah! Oof!" The little pup exclaimed, feeling like the scene will last forever.

Finally, they halted with a thump. They could feel their head spinning and their vision was blurry. Scrapes were plastered all over their body and even a tint of crimson liquid was placed on their right cheek, barely noticeable.

The little pup stood on wobbly legs, trying to figure out where they were. The scenery was unfamiliar, with big boulders scattered and rocks covering most of the green grass. The tall trees stood far from the terrain as if avoiding the massive boulders placed in that area.

"Where am I?" The pup whispered, walking forward. The pup's eyes wandered around the area and a sense of curiosity filled their bones. With a smile, they ran to the rocky towers, excited to see what is in store for them.

The dog paused on chewing on the meat that was in their mouth. They slowly turned to face the mix, confusion etched on their face. Rocky gulped, feeling like he made a mistake. Of all the questions he could ask, he chose that. 

The dog's face shifted. Their eyes softened and a familiar aura surrounded the pup. They raised an eyebrow, a small annoying frown tugging on their lips. "Do I look like I'm bursting with fire to you?" they replied, their tone was playful and sarcastic, much to the surprise of everyone, especially to Rocky. 

Rubble's fear vanished and in replacement was amusement. He tried to stifle a laugh, knowing he shouldn't make fun of such a dangerous dog, but he could not help himself and began to laugh hysterically. Soon joined Marshall, Skye, and Chase. Even Ryder was giggling. Rocky blushed underneath his fur coat in embarrassment to have such a response from someone who tried to kill him not long ago. Safe to say, he is speechless. 

The dog's mouth twitched but the white mutt restrained themselves as to show no enjoyment. They let the team laugh until they were all calm. Then they said, "glad you are enjoying yourselves." Their face then morphed into annoyance and said, "and if you're done, leave." The pup glared their way, sending daggers and daring them to continue staying in their territory.

The team backed away, seeing the hostility the pup was giving them. "Let's go, pups," Ryder beckoned his team. 

The pups quickly followed Ryder out of the dog's territory, not wanting it to get into a fight with them. "C'mon," Zuma urged Rocky, pulling his paw towards the rest of the team. He knew if he let Rocky go back to the camping site himself, he'll just go back and try to fulfill his curiosity and try and talk to the dog.