Castle on a Cloud
The whole family was traveling to a new land, and that in itself was an adventure. But little Alarik still loved to lose himself to the adventures in his imagination, the ones that involved battling fearsome creatures and rescuing fair princesses. His family had settled into another temporary den for the evening, and Alarik managed to sneak away while his other siblings were bickering over sleeping arrangements. He assumed his big sisters were off hunting somewhere. He wasn't worried about wandering a little on his own. Knights were fearless. They didn't get worried about anything. Alarik smiled proudly and held his tail high with those thoughts in mind, straying about thirty or forty yards from the rest of his family.
In his head, he was following a treasure map with his fellow knights, searching for a magical jewel that would save the whole kingdom. And the whole kingdom, of course, included his family. And a beautiful princess, probably. It was the noblest of causes. He walked through the rain dampened grasses of the orchard they had settled in, the young grasses gentle on his little puppy paws. All around him tiny buds were beginning to poke out of the branches. Some had even started to open, releasing their sweet, innocent scent into the air. This was the enchanted forest in which Alarik would find his special jewel.
Just then, a twig snapped. His orange eyes went wide and he looked over in time to see a rabbit fleeing from his approach. But in his mind, an enemy had appeared. They wanted to get the jewel first, and destroy the kingdom! Alarik bent down into a pouncing position, wiggling his butt in the air. Then he attacked! With a rather adorable little growl, he jumped at a small plant, tackling it down and tearing at it with his mighty jaws. The enemy took a swing at him and he jumped back, then dove in again and ripped the little plant up by its roots, tossing it a couple feet away. "Take that, you fiend!" he cried, giggling as he ran over to look at the plant a little closer. But on his way he got distracted again, this time by a sparkly rock. "The magical jewel! Our kingdom is saved!" "Talk" "You" Think |