Fancy Dirt

It was a mystery to him how Dantalian could just disappear into thin air. One second she was sitting beside him chattering on about a dragonfly, and then the next Pyrrhic must have blinked or something because she up and vanished without so much as a flurry of leaves or swishing grass to indicate which direction she'd gone. The moment he realized she was gone he jumped to his feet. "Dantalian? Dantalian!" There was nothing but silence for several seconds and then her happy little voice wafted to him on the wind. "Here papa! Come find me!" God damn it.

Pyrrhic took off running after her. The last thing he needed was to lose her in the creek or have her get carried off by a hawk. The little girl was spirited and brave, but completely oblivious to the fact that she weighed about as much as a fat rabbit. There were countless opportunistic predators out there who would jump at the chance to kill a little wolf pup.

He wove through the grasses catching a glimpse of the girl every once in awhile. She was too far ahead for his comfort and rapidly gaining ground.

...and then she was gone. Pyrrhic slid to a halt and looked around, his ears straining as he tried to pinpoint her location. Finally her little voice came to him again only this time it was clear she wasn't talk to him. He took off running and burst onto the scene, surprised to find her pestering a stranger who was standing in the water. Frustrated, he said, "There you are! Dantalian, don't run off like that. It's dangerous out here." To the man, he said, "Sorry about that, she's quite brazen for someone who's only yea high." He said while making a low gesture with his paw.