Percy's Purpose
It all started when that...THING had stolen Percy's food for what felt like the umpteenth time.
Truthfully, it was only the second time Percy had encountered the strange, cat-like creature, but once was one time too many as far as Percy was concerned. Twice was unbearable!
Percy gave chase. He was so incensed he didn't even let getting stuck halfway in a log deter him from his pursuit. As Percy stumbled around in the dark (and cursed his plump belly and poor pugish sense of smell), he vowed he'd make that thing PAY the next time he saw him.
When Percy finally got free and saw that creature staring at him, he lunged at him. He had had the worst day of his pampered life and dog help him, he was going to bring back that thing's fluffy, striped tail as a trophy/chew toy!
But Percy snapped out of his fury once the tree snapped at him. Shock factor aside, this tree was definite alpha material.
As the shock subsided, it slowly registered to Percy what was going on: he had quite literally stumbled onto John Smith (a man who worked for his master and had the irritating habit of mussing up Percy's fur with his overly-vigorous petting) meeting up with some copper-skinned woman. A woman who disturbingly resembled the warriors that had recently invaded the settlers' camp (Percy would never forget the trauma surrounding the drumstick that he declined to eat right away). Apparently, the woman was in league with the striped creature and the talking tree. And some very strange, and VERY irate, little bird who did not seem to like John one whit.
While Percy had never paid much attention to human affairs, he knew enough to know that this meeting was not supposed to happen. His master Radcliffe, who was the alpha of the settlers' pack, had decreed that his men were forbidden to interact with the native people of this land. Radcliffe called these people "savages," and after the "drumstick incident" Percy could see why.
Given all this, Percy was absolutely flabbergasted when John went and embraced the woman! The stripped creature gave a contented sigh (as if it found all this romantic), the bird pitched a hissy-fit, and tree smiled and blocked their view of the couple to give them some privacy.
Then everything went south.
There was a yell and what sounded like a struggle. Percy peeked out through the branches and saw John fighting with a male savage. The woman tried to break up the fight, but the warrior simply pushed her aside.
A gunshot rang out. The warrior suddenly collapsed. Percy saw a settler ( the timid, red-haired one who seemed to be no more than a pup) holding a smoking musket. The woman was upset and John was holding her back to keep her from lunging at the young settler.
Then Percy heard an all-too familiar whooping sound. He scrambled off the tree's stump and crawled into its exposed roots where he tried to make himself as small as possible, hoping that the incoming savages wouldn't notice him.
Percy watched as John yelled at the red-haired pup to escape. As soon as the young settler ran off into the woods, the warriors came and captured John. A small group of them picked up the dead man's body and the woman slowly followed the band of warriors in a daze.
Percy felt dazed too. He had never seen so many confusing things happen in such a short amount of time. And to top it all off, he was cold, hungry, and more than a little frightened. All he could do was whimper.
Then Percy noticed the striped creature and his little bird companion looking at him. They exchanged a quick glance and seemed to reach an unspoken agreement. The creature made a gentle chittering noise and gestured for Percy to come with them.
Percy hesitated. But after realizing that he had no way of finding his own way back, he decided to follow them.
The strange creature and bird brought Percy to a camp that looked radically different from the settlers' camp. And it was filled with more copper-skinned people! But none of them paid the animals any attention. Percy's new companions led him to small tent at the edge of the camp and walked inside. Percy was amazed at their apparent brazenness, but figured they knew what they were doing and followed them in.
Percy took in his surroundings. The little tent was a world away from the lifestyle he was used to. It was sparsely furnished and very...well...the only word Percy could come up with was "earthy." While everything seemed to be tidy enough in its own way, Percy could see that the floor was dirt and the walls seemed to be woven from sticks rather than built with planks of wood. It was if they hadn't fully left the outdoors.
The creature sat down and the bird found a perch. They seemed to be waiting for something. Percy was puzzled, but could see no alternative other than to wait with them.
So they did.
They didn't have to wait long. About fifteen minutes later, a woman entered the tent. The same woman John had embraced back in the forest. The bird immediately flew to her shoulder and nuzzled her face. The striped thing wound himself around her ankles and chittered. The woman responded by nuzzling the bird in return and running a hand over the creature's back.
She then pulled out a couple jars and proceeded to feed them: a handful of seeds for the bird, and some berries in a bowl for the creature.
As the woman set down the creature's bowl, she suddenly noticed Percy's presence. A look of surprise crossed her face. Percy fidgeted as he wondered what he ought to do. The last savage he met nearly skewered him with an arrow. But the other animals seemed to trust her and she didn't appear to have any weapons. But still...
Percy's stomach loudly rumbled. Without a word, the woman prepared another bowl of berries and set it down in front of him. Percy sniffed hesitantly, not sure what to make of this strange new food.
But when he saw the striped thing making eyes at his dish, he quickly scarfed the berries down. No way was he going to let that thing deprive him of a meal for a THIRD time!
After he finished eating, the woman provided water for all of them. As Percy drank, he got a good look at her:
Being a dog, Percy wasn't a good judge of human attractiveness. But even he could see that this woman was beautiful with her slender figure, long dark hair, and lovely face. She wasn't a bit frightening like the other savages he had seen. "Savage" didn't seem to be a fitting term for her all. "Gentle" was more like it, Percy thought.
And she didn't seem to be alarmed by him. Percy understood that he probably seemed just as odd to her as her animal friends seemed to him. She might have not have ever seen a dog before, let alone a purebred pug like him. Yet she gave him the same care she gave her own animals. Percy felt oddly touched by this.
The woman lay down on her cot, emotionally worn out by recent events. The bird found a perch near her head and the creature curled up in an empty basket next to her.
Percy looked around. He didn't see any other available baskets and he wasn't keen on sleeping in the dirt. He gave a small, agitated whine.
The woman opened her eyes and silently gestured for him to come join her on the cot. Once again, Percy hesitated. The last time he tried that, he had been a puppy and Radcliffe had sternly reprimanded him for it. After that, Percy stuck to sleeping alone in his own luxurious dog bed.
But there was no such bed here. Percy hopped up onto to the cot next to his hostess.
Her body felt warm next to his own. It was as if he was nestling with his mother and littermates again. And her long hair made a soft blanket. He quickly dozed off, tired from his overly exciting day.
But Percy's day wasn't over yet. After a couple hours the woman got up. She was restless and obviously still upset over what happened to John. After trying, and failing, to go back to sleep several times, she stole out of her tent. Percy and the others immediately got up and followed her. She led them through the camp, through the woods, and back to talking tree. She then told the tree what she had learned: John was going to be killed at sunrise. No wonder she couldn't sleep, Percy thought. And Percy knew that if John was killed, Radclife's pack would retaliate. A fight was inevitable.
The tree urged the woman to try and stop the execution and referenced some dream the woman had had earlier (Percy had NO idea what that meant). But the woman despondently told the tree that the dream was wrong. And she admitted that she felt "so lost."
She did look lost. Percy had never seen anyone look as sad and helpless as her in that moment. Although he had only known her a short time, Percy couldn't bear to see this undeniably good and loving person unhappy. He felt her sadness as keenly as if it were his own and he wished he could make all her pain go away. But he knew he couldn't.
So Percy did the only thing he could. He sat next to her and leaned his entire body into her side.
And he could feel her lean back into him.
Years later, Percy would realize that was the moment he found his purpose. He felt it even before he witnessed Radcliffe try to kill Pocahontas's father. Radcliffe may have been an alpha, but he was not an alpha worthy of anyone's loyalty.
After things settled down, Wiggins had offered to take Percy back to England with him. By nipping, growling, and running behind Pocahontas's legs, Percy made his position clear. He felt a little bad about using such drastic measures with Wiggins, who had been an excellent caretaker to him, but he just HAD to get his point across. Wiggins was a good sort, but he wasn't Pocahontas. Besides, Percy knew that as a servant, Wiggins couldn't actually keep him. Servants were too busy to have pets of their own. Going back to England would just mean a whole home for Percy. And Percy was very happy with the home he found for himself in the New World.
When Percy did return to England a few years later to accompany Pocahontas on a diplomatic mission (albeit initially as a stowaway) he cowered under their coach when they crossed paths with his old master. Not because he was afraid of Radcliffe, but because he was afraid of being taken away from Pocahontas. Thankfully, Radcliffe didn't notice him and Percy's ownership was never challenged.
As for Meeko the raccoon and Flit the hummingbird, Percy came to view them as his brothers (although he would always have something of a love-hate relationship with Meeko). The three of them bonded over their common goal: to be there for Pocahontas.
Each of them had a unique role to fill in their person's life. Flit was Pochahontas's self-appointed protector (Percy found that the tiny little bird was far more tenacious than any watchdog he had ever known). Meeko was a born comedian who was always coming up with ways to make Pochahontas smile (Percy never enjoyed being the butt of Meeko's jokes, but even he had to admit hearing their person laugh was a worthy goal).
And Percy? Percy was the one who could just sit and "be" with Pochontas whenever the need arose. While Flit was keen to find solutions, and Meeko was quick to create distractions, Percy's unique form of empathy brought his person untold comfort. When Pocahontas got news of John Smith's alleged death, Percy sat by her side for hours. He did the same thing before she returned to Virginia after her diplomatic mission, knowing how much she regretted not telling John Rowlfe about her feelings for him.
But they didn't just bond over sad times. Even though Pochahontas was a very lively woman, sometimes she just wanted to sit and think about all the good things in her world. While Meeko and Flit were more than happy to share in Pocahontas's joy, they were both far too restless to stay still for very long. Percy turned out to be a perfect companion to contemplate life with. He spent a morning sitting next to Pocahontas as she quietly rejoiced that John Rowlfe DID love her after all and had even chosen to sail back to Virginia with them. He sat with her right before her wedding as she gave her thanks to the spirits and fondly remembered her mother.
And as Percy leaned into Pocahontas while they both watched over her infant son, Thomas, he knew he could have no higher purpose in life.