mixberry shortcake

He wasn't far behind his brother, but his pace was slower. He enjoyed spending time with his brother, sure. But he also liked to stop and watch what other pack members were doing, and when he wasn't watching them, he would think about the stories his mother had told him about other great warriors fighting off predators. He wanted to be a great warrior like the ones in her stories. He was a Godling, after all. Surely he could even be better than them, right? While Iroh pulled ahead, Zagan had stopped to face a tree. He bared his teeth and crouched low, fur bristling as he pretended that the tree was one of the predators his mom had talked about. He didn't know what they looked like, but he could try to picture them based on the descriptions given to him. Of course, his imagination brought on wild visions of these beasts. The tree took on the appearance of sharp, dripping teeth and the branches above had long, sharp claws that threatened to slice him up.

He puffed out his chest and let loose the fiercest puppy growl he could before rushing at it. When he got close, he whacked the tree with his paws a few times as he darted in and out, pretending he was in a real fight. When he imagined the tree-predator roaring, the air was suddenly pierced with a cry from his brother. His head abruptly rose, confusion on his face for a moment. Did...he really just hear that? The sudden scent of something unfamiliar followed by the heavy thud of footsteps caught his attention, and he suddenly realized that he wasn't just imagining what he'd heard. Without hesitation he broke into a run towards where his brother was, fur bristling with both fear for his brother and the thought of fighting whatever was threatening him.

As he ran to find his brother, he spotted a black figure running up ahead, and he realized that it was after his brother who appeared to have fallen down. With his heart pounding and blood roaring in his ears, he didn't slow down as he raced towards the beast with the fiercest snarl he could manage. "Hey! Pick on someone your own size!" He called out as he aimed to zoom past between it and his brother, but just far enough to avoid it tackling him. The tactic worked to a degree. He managed to get its attention off of his brother, but now he was being chased by the beast! He kept running and checking over his shoulder to make sure it wasn't getting too close but also not turning back to Iroh. Maybe he could lure it away from his brother, and if all else failed maybe they'd end up having to fight it. He'd never been in a real fight though, so he wasn't sure how he was even supposed to fight this thing without getting seriously injured by those long claws he spotted.

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