Little Brother, Little Brother, Where Are You Going?
The little dog, who had been up for an hour already, was patiently waited for his master's awakening. He had been up running around and playing with Mulan's mother, Granny Fa, and for a brief time with the tired and serene Fa Zhou. But the company he enjoyed the most was from Mulan; however, when she went off to fight in the army, he missed his master and was left to instead prank and mess around with the chickens, who would not leave him alone for reasons he was not sure about. But it was fine, because when Mulan returned, she came home with a friend. It was a few days after her return and all she did all day was sleep. Little Brother sat there looking at his master, who was as solid as rock. It seemed nothing could move her. He knew he had to wake her up.
The little dog barked at Mulan, waking her up promptly. She smiled and laughed at the dog's usual cheerfulness. Mulan stretched her arms up and groaned as the morning light drifted slowly upon her face. She yawned and then plopped back down on the bed, sighing happily as she enjoyed the comforts of bed once again.
Little Brother, not taking too kindly to being ignored, immediately jumped on the bed and playfully licked Mulan's face.
She giggled and gently pushed the dog away, "I'm tired Little Brother. I'll play with you later."
However, he wouldn't take no for an answer. He continued to lick her face, but she pushed him away once more. But Little Brother knew how to get her to wake up. He jumped on the couch to push open the blinds and shed some light in. The mischievous dog then pulled the blanket off and jumped on the bed once again and started nudging her hands with his nose.
Mulan sighed and then sat up. She looked at her little dog and laughed. "You never give up do you?" Mulan smirked. "You certainly got that from me. Mama always did tell me that I was stubborn." She petted him, "I wanted a little brother and I got you. Sometimes I think you might be worse though." He angrily barked and Mulan laughed, "I was kidding. But anyways, I'm guessing you're hungry aren't you?"
Little Brother immediately barked and ran for his bowl in the food room. Soon enough, Mulan came in and grabbed a bag of food and poured it into his bowl. She then found a spare bone and held it with intentions to give it to him after he finished his meal. Mulan sighed as she watched him eat. She had missed the little guy while she was off in the army and decided she would spend the whole day with him once she finished her chores. Mulan giggled a bit as she remembered how he had fed the chickens for her. She promised she wouldn't do that to him…for a while.
Little Brother barked at her getting her attention. Mulan smiled and placed the bone in front of the small dog and watched as he bit at it. She sat down and said, "You are the cutest doggy in the world, yes you are. And Shang took a liking to you too."
He barked happily and went back to eating.
Mulan laughed and thought about her visit back.
"Thank you for inviting me to dinner," Shang said to her. "The food on the way here is not exactly what I liked, though I'll admit it is better than the camp food we've had. I haven't had any home cooked meals in a while."
"Oh well Mulan makes a superb lo mein," Fa Zhou replied, joining in their conversation.
"Is that so?" Shang smiled and shot a look at Mulan.
Mulan blushed and humbly answered him, "I've learned a lot from my mother. Just because I'm not the traditional girl, doesn't mean I can't do the chores."
At that moment Mulan's dog came running towards her with the chickens following him. Mulan immediately gathered up the chickens and put them in coop and then ran back to find Little Brother all over Shang. Shang was laughing as Little Brother licked him all over his face.
"Little Brother!" Mulan yelled at him and picked up the dog to pet him. She sighed and said to Shang, "I'm sorry."
Shang smiled. "Why? I love dogs. By the way, I think your dog likes me. But I like him too."
Little Brother barked happily.
He barked again, bringing Mulan back to reality. She smiled and grabbed the bag of chicken feed. "C'mon," Mulan said to him and opened the door, "let's go feed the chicken."
As soon as they opened the door the chicken ran for Little Brother, who ran away as fast as he could. Mulan immediately called the chicken to her, helping her poor dog escape. She then fed the chickens once more and then fenced them in and left a little more feed for them to eat. Mulan then looked for her dog but he was nowhere in sight. "Little Brother! Little Brother!" she called for him, "Where are you?" She then looked to the ground and found his footprints. Mulan followed them to the river where she saw him playing in the water. She immediately ran to him and picked him up and carried him inside. "Where did you think you were going little guy?" Mulan then walked inside and dropped him on the floor then went to her room to start her indoor chores. Expecting him to follow, she suddenly turned around and found him nowhere in sight.
Mulan quickly ran to where she placed him on the ground and found nothing but his wet paw prints leading out the door. Mulan quickly dashed out the door following his wet footprints and hoping to find him. For about a few yards she was able to follow his footsteps, but of course the more he ran, the drier his feet got and the harder it was to follow him. The slight breeze also did not help, as the sand covered some of his paw prints. Mulan sighed. What a way to start a morning.
The mischievous little dog saw the look in his master's eyes earlier that morning. He guessed she was thinking about that friend she brought in. He had liked him too. Why did he run away from home? Mulan was gone for a while, so he thought that he should have an adventure too. It was only fair. There were times he wanted to go find her, but of course he was confined to the walls of his home. Now that Mulan had left the door open for him, he was going to have his own adventure.
The little dog played with the geese in the river, who did not take too lightly to him splashing around and ruining their bath. So he decided to take a walk somewhere else. Little Brother ran to the town center where he found many shops and several people who were willing to give him some food. He gladly took the food and continued on his merry way. There was one young lady who decided to chase after him for reasons uncertain, but he outran her quickly.
Little Brother made his way outside the town gates and stared at the nature path ahead of him wondering exactly where he was headed.
Mulan looked everywhere around her farm but there was no sight of him. It was already mid-morning and there was more work to be done at home, but she could not have her dog running out and about. What would her parents say? What would the townspeople say? The dog is just as loose as the owner. Mulan scoffed. You'd think that after saving China, she'd get some respect and learn that what other people think is not so important.
She sighed and ran into town, realizing that he might have gone there to explore. As she ran through the shops, she was greeted by many who were honored and grateful for her bravery. Mulan also received several hugs and welcome back greetings from other people in the town. Her best friend, Lin, came up to her with a big smile and hug.
"Mulan! You are one crazy girl, do you know that?" she punched her in the arm, and Mulan massaged her arm, pretending that it hurt. "You silly! Stop pretending like it hurt! How was the army? I saw the Captain come by this village. He is one handsome man. I hope he came by to court you."
Mulan blushed, "You're the one who's silly! You've always got your head in the clouds! Besides, he just came to return my helmet. That's all."
Lin threw her a look, "Yeah. Your helmet. Ahuh. Oh because you totally needed that. You came back with a sword and the Emperor's crest, and he comes home with your oh so special helmet. I bet you didn't even have that thing on most of the time. Did he bring flowers also?"
Mulan laughed. "Lin! Stop it!" The two girls giggled like old times. There certainly was nothing that could break a friendship. "Lin, I'm sorry to cut this conversation short, but I need to find my dog."
"I saw him running through these shops not too long ago!" Lin exclaimed. "I tried following him, but your dog can run! He started running towards the city gates."
Mulan laughed and gave her best friend a hug. "Thank you Lin!" She immediately started running north, hoping to catch him.
"Hey, soldier!" Lin yelled, "Next time you see that hunky Captain of yours, promise me you'll give him a kiss for me!"
Mulan laughed and yelled as she ran, "Not gonna happen!"
The nature around him was so beautiful. He was enjoying it. Every now and then Little Brother would run into the fields and just roll around in the grass. He would run so quickly along the path and meet several people traveling on it. The animals in the forest were also kind to him and showed him around. He passed by other towns
As he got back on the road, he picked up a certain scent. It was so familiar to him, yet he was not quite sure who or what it belonged to. The more he smelled it though, the more he recognized it. Suddenly, he realized who it belonged to, and started sprinting towards it, not stopping anymore.
Mulan continued to run along the roads, not stopping at all. She ran alongside because she saw her dog's faint footprints and hoped to follow down his trail. Mulan was running faster than she had ever run, and not even stopping to catch her breath. As she followed along the path, she realized how familiar the road looked. It was the same path she took on her way home. Mulan then wondered, Little Brother, where are you going?
The little dog finally came along an ornate town, different from his own village. These people were walking differently and the feel of the area was much different from his town. He suddenly felt out of place and wondered where he was going. Little Brother then picked up the scent again and started searching once again. He followed the scent up to a house where he saw a man sitting on the porch steps.
The man laughed and asked, "What are you doing here little guy?"
Mulan sighed as she reached the gates of the town. From the looks of this town, it was a noble and a rich one. She silently cursed herself for her attire and quickly ran through the town. The looks she got from many of the townspeople were mixed with laughter and confusion. She guessed that they were surprised to see their heroine running about in their town, but wondered why she was still in her night wear.
She bravely asked the people where her dog was, and despite her belief that they would scorn her for running about in her attire, they thanked her for her bravery and asked her if she needed any help. Mulan politely declined and followed where they pointed to: the high houses on the hill.
Based on their elaborate design and high place in the town, these people were nobles or those of high honor. Mulan nervously walked through the houses looking for her dog, and cringing as each person passed her by, only knowing exactly what was going through their head. She finally came upon a house with a young man in the yard playing with a dog.
She immediately ran up to the house and stopped right in her tracks when she realized who the owner of the house was. For a moment, she stood there with her mouth agape as she watched the two play around.
Little Brother, realizing that his master was there, immediately turned around and barked at her.
Shang laughed and walked over to her, followed by Little Brother. He smiled and gestured towards the dog. "I believe he belongs to you."
Mulan smiled, "Yeah, he ran away from home. He's never done that before."
"Maybe he wanted adventure, like a certain someone I know," Shang suggested.
Mulan laughed, "Or maybe, he liked you so much that he wanted to find you again. He followed you home."
"Like how I followed you home?" Shang asked with a smile.
"Yeah, except he didn't bring home your helmet," Mulan jokingly replied.
Shang smiled and softly answered, "But he brought you here."
Mulan blushed and looked down, while smiling and not knowing what to say. She opened her mouth to speak, but spoke no words. Mulan finally looked him in the eyes and replied, "But I ran here on foot. You came on a horse. My chase was more injurious. My feet hurt."
"Are you implying that you would like to stay for dinner?" Shang asked slyly.
Mulan smiled, "I would like to meet your family, but maybe I'll come back for dinner. I have a lot of chores to do when I get home, which I've missed thanks to this little guy."
"I'm sure your parents should let you off the hook for going out and saving China," Shang smiled.
Mulan laughed, "See after running away from home, my parents aren't exactly happy with me. I've proven to them just how disobedient I can be. I'm on a strict hold. But I'm sure I can come back for dinner."
Shang smiled, "Well I think you should carry this little guy home, so he doesn't run away again."
"I sure will," Mulan answered, "Plus I better get home soon." But before she left, she did what she promised Lin. Mulan kissed Shang gently on the lips. When they both parted, she left Shang speechless. Mulan blushed and said as she left, "Thank you for watching over my Little Brother," and then ran home.