It's too cold in my new burrow; but then again- it's always been too cold in my burrow ever since...
I've been on my own for as long as I can remember, well... sort of on my own. At least I've got my friends... uh... friend. Is she still my friend? She told Ethan we weren't, but she still hangs out with me. Why does she like Ethan so much? Oh... never mind! Go to sleep, Louis.
It's been hours... I need to get some sleep... Oh, could the sun please come up?
...
Finally! I can see the early morning sun seeping through the cracks in the roof of the burrow. I dig out, recommitting to the pledge I make every day by promising to myself that I will find out if Peaches likes me back the very next time I see her. I've no intention of actually asking her out of course; I'm too much of a coward to ever do it, especially with anyone else around... Oh well, I should go find something for breakfast. I dig back down and off in the direction of the berry bushes, and I only hit my head on two rocks this time... okay, three!
There's lots of berries today- looks like I won't have to find any worms this morning. I chew down a few of the ripe ones. They've got a very tart flavor, but I kind of like it. When I've finished, I dig off toward Peaches' tree. It's early so the herd is probably still asleep.
*Thump*
Ow! This must be one of the roots of the tree. I still haven't quite gotten used to the layout of this new island. I tunnel up. Looking around, I can see everyone; well, almost everyone. Wait! Where's Sid's granny?!
She's always wandering off... I better go find her. So, where could she be? I pause, thinking.
She's probably down by the beach trying to find her pet. She's always trying to find her pet.
...
"Granny?!" I call, working up as loud a sound as I can muster. I've been walking along the beach for almost ten minutes, and I've only found one set of tracks in the sand.
"Granny," I call again, "darn it. She's too old to hear me, and I'm too..."
"Who you calling old?" A raspy voice interrupts, and I jump a little.
"Oh... uh... s-sorry ma'am." I squeak in my fright. "W-what are you doing out here; it's dangerous to be out alone this early in the morning."
"Well aren't you one to talk, shorty." I feel all the blood in my body rush to my cheeks at her rebuttal. "Shouldn't you be taking your own advice?"
"I guess so..." I say, "but you're the one with the family to be with."
"Hey, don't you have Peaches."
"What!? P-P-Peaches!? She's... uh... she's just my f-friend..." It stung to say that. If all my blood isn't already contained in my face, it certainly is now. Why can't I just get it out that I l-love Peaches? Why won't my mouth just say the one thing I've had eating at me since before I can remember!? I look up and see Granny's eyes staring at me; there's some hint of understanding being conveyed by them. So much so, actually, that I start to wonder if I've just shouted those questions in her face.
"Boy, you got it bad." she says, smiling an empty-toothed smile and scruffing my hair.
"W-wait, you... you know that I l-l-lo..." She shuts my mouth before I can finish.
"Shh... Don't worry. I'll keep your little secret, if you walk me back to the tree." She pats my head again; I find it hard to believe that she seems so sour but can actually be sweet.
"Thank you, and sure." I say, beginning to walk back towards the tree. It's a short walk back, but the flowers and trees look beautiful. Not another word is said between us the whole way, though Granny does smile sympathetically at me before returning to sleep next to Sid.
I sit on a flat rock near the tree, waiting as patiently as I can for the herd to awaken. A ray of sunlight casts through the tree canopy and lands directly on the rock; it feels warm and calming as I sit there, absorbing the heat of the sun as it hits my fur. I'm glad it's warmer this morning; it was far too cold last night, but this kind of makes up for it. I can see Peaches; she looks so calm and peaceful sleeping there in the tree. She's so unique, so beautiful. I can hear her breathing, slow and rhythmic. Her belly rises and falls as she breathes in and out...
...
"Louis!" What? Who is that? Where am I? Am I asleep? I open my eyes; It's too bright! I can't see anything. I must have fallen asleep on the rock. My eyes start to adjust, and I see a familiar pair of green, dazzling eyes looking back at me.
"Peaches?" I slowly let her name roll off my tongue and feel myself smile as I say it.
"Louis, what are you doing out here, all alone?" She asks quizzically. To be honest, I have no idea what I'm doing out here. I was just sitting in the faint morning sun what feels like a few seconds ago, and now it's blazing high in the sky.
"Uh... I don't know... I guess I... I fell asleep..." Not a very good explanation on my part, but at least I didn't tell her that I was watching her sleep. "I was waiting on this rock... I, I didn't get much sleep last night, but I have more energy now."
I see Crash and Eddie walking up, and given the evil smirks on their faces, I don't think they have anything nice to say. "Awwwe... Did Wiener have a bad dream?" Guess I was right; even given my apparent boldness within my own mind, I still feel my cheeks flush red.
"Wha-what!? N-n-no! It's... It's just really cold in my burrow at night." To be honest, I did have a bad dream. I have them far too often, but I've definitely had enough to be sure they're not real. Though, it would be nice to have someone next to me while I sleep to ward them off... Peaches gives Crash and Eddie a look that even scares me- though that doesn't take much- and they rush away, chuckling to themselves.
"It's okay, Louis. Everyone's scared every once in a while." She says sympathetically. She doesn't know the half of it; I'm terrified by my own shadow sometimes, but at least she's trying to cheer me up. Unexpectedly, she gently raps her trunk around my chest and hoists me off the rock and into the air. She then places me on her head and says cheerily, "Let's go find something to do."
"Okay." I say reluctantly. I just hope that by "find something to do" she doesn't really mean "hang out with Ethan."
Hola. Well... this is my first story. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. And also, I'm thinking about adding a song at the end of each chapter that I think relates to it. For example, this chapter's song is "I'd do Anything" by Simple Plan.