A/N: THERE WILL BE A SCENE WHICH WILL NOT BE SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. And no. I don't mean smut. Smut is illegal.
It was morning when the rain ceased. The dark clouds cleared and appeared the calm beautiful blue sky with the sun smiling down on all it touches. The wind passed by, singing a merry tune of a lullaby from long ago. The little pup fluttered their eyes opened to see the glorious morning rays passing through the leaves of the trees. They carefully climbed out of the burrow, trying to put no pressure on their injured paw.
They walked out and awed the beautiful scenery that was before them. The flowers bloomed in their presence as if welcoming them into the beautiful world after the storm. The leaves fell from their branches and danced with the wind, gracefully bowing until they fell to the ground, only for the wind to pick them up again. The pup saw little critters running around to play with other little ones such as themselves. Rabbits, frogs, squirrels, and little bugs.
The unnamed pup smiled, walking around to have a better view of everything. They went forward to sniff the beautiful wildflowers, taking in the forest scent. A little butterfly landed on its nose, flapping its wings to show a pair of colorful green eyes, like theirs. The pup stared in awe as the little bug stayed still on their nose.
The green butterfly fluttered its wings and lifted off, beckoning the pup to follow it. The little pup wagged its tail and started to follow the trail of the butterfly, not knowing what lies ahead.
Chase was sniffing the ground, trying to track what was making that noise with his K-9 senses. The others were walking behind him, trying to look for any possible danger. Rubble stepped on a twig and he screamed in shock. "Aah!" Yelled, Rubble, jumping to Ryder's arms in hopes of protection. Ryder chuckled seeing the little pup so jumpy. "Don't worry, Rubble," Ryder reassured, putting the youngling down, "it was just a twig." "Oh, hehe..." Rubble chuckled nervously, trying to hide his embarrassment for getting easily scared of such a trivial thing. "I knew that," he lied, following the others, but staying close to Ryder.
The others were pretty jumpy as well. Well, not as jumpy as the construction pup, but they all tried to stand their guard and not let fear overtake them, and they are failing incredulously.
Marshall and Skye stayed close to Chase, in the belief that Chase is hopefully right. Rocky was less shaky than the others, excited even. He was ready for something, anything, to pounce in front of them and told Chase that he was right. He was tired of sitting around in the Lookout with minor missions that only needed a screw and a plank of wood, and playing safe among the sidelines with the other pups. This was an opportunity for a dangerous adventure that Rocky was ready to take. Zuma was like Rocky, but his thirst for adventure lied somewhere else. He never wishes for something as dangerous as facing a legendary creature who can kill them with one swipe of its mighty claw. Nonetheless, Rocky was his best friend, so wherever he goes, Zuma follows.
Chase stopped in his tracks, finally smelling something out of the ordinary. "What's wrong, Chase?" Skye asked, scared that maybe they came too close to the territory of the Forest Hound. "I smell... Meat?" Chase said, his tone unsure. "M-meat?!" Rubble repeated, backing away and retreating to Ryder. "I-I'm not sure..." Chase replied, looking back at his team to find three scared pups, Zuma confused, and a smug-looking Rocky. Oh, how he wanted to wipe that smile off of the recycling pup so much.
"Well, let's track it down!" Rocky said, walking forward to Chase with his head held high and his chest puffed out. "Track it down? Are you kidding? This might be a predator! That could kill us!" Chase said, exaggerating the word kill to try and get into Rocky's head, but to no use. Rocky's grin only widened. He got close to Chase with a taunting shimmer in his eyes. "Why? You scared?" Rocky taunted, daring Chase to admit he believes in the Forest Hound. Chase returned his remark with a glare. "Why would I be scared? The Forest Hound is just a legend," Chase replied, standing his ground, Rocky not letting his prideful grin slip off his face.
"Okay, then. Let's go," Rocky said walking forward, beckoning the others to follow him. With a sigh, Chase followed him, and so did the others. But of course, they needed Chase to lead for he has a better sense of smell than most of the pups in the PAW Patrol.
Chase followed the strange scent deeper into the forest with the rest of the gang following him. The smell was getting stronger and he could define it more clearly now as rotten meat. He cringed as the disgusting smell first entered his nose trills, but he became accustomed to it in a short time.
Chase lead the pups behind a bush of wildflowers. As Chase was busy sniffing out what the cause of the scent was, every pup else stood still in shock and horror. Chase focused on the ground, having the scent grow stronger as he inched closer. He propelled back when he saw bloodstains on the green grass. He finally looked up and in front of him was a deer. A dead rotting deer.
It was almost unrecognizable with half of its flesh torn off, showing the non-functional organs that still lay inside. Its bones were piercing out of its flesh, already rotting to the exposure of the air of the outdoors. The crimson liquid leaked out of its body, painting its surrounding bed a dark red. The little scavengers feasted on its rotting body, flying around until they found a spot to eat.
The PAW Patrol was shaken with fear, disgust, and shock. The young pups and Ryder stood still on their places, shaking in fear, as if any moment, that dead rotting dear would stand up on its hind legs and walk towards them.
Rubble was in near tears, never seeing such a gruesome sight as this. Marshall, Skye, and Ryder couldn't lay their eyes off of the decaying animal, as if it were some rare specimen left untouched. Zuma couldn't handle the sight without the vile acid coming out from his stomach and back to where they were first munched. Chase slowly retreated to Ryder, his step slower than the other, afraid that something might pounce and do the same thing to him. Rocky, however, had the oddest reaction. His lips perked into a smile, eyes scanning the territory they were in. His body was shaking in fear and his mind was yelling at him to run for his life and never come back, but adrenaline had other things planned. He wanted to find what or who was responsible for this.
"I told you so!" Rocky said, breaking everyone from their trance, having their attention towards Rocky. "I told you the Forest Hound was real!" Rocky said, walking forward.
"Y-yeah... R-right..." Chase said, taking quicker steps back, "we should go now..."
"Yeah! Before it comes back!" Rubble agreed, pulling Ryder's leg, eager to leave this sighting. He was sure that this day will give him nightmares and he was less than eager for that.
Rocky looked back, an unamused face looking back at his team "Psh, relax," Rocky said, walking forward, unfazed from the stare Ryder was giving him from behind. "Rocky," Ryder called, but the mix ignored it. "It's not like the Forest Hound wou-"
Jumping out from the bushes, a ferocious dog came and pounced on Rocky, growling, with emerald eyes that were coated in fire. Rocky let out a scream, fear running through his whole body, regretting the decision that he came here in the first place. Their fur was a dirty white, beige spots scattering all over their face and body. On top of their muscle was a scar, dried and old, making the dog more intimidating than they already were.
Rocky braced himself for his death with this dog, expecting for it to chomp down on its neck and tear his windpipes. He was expecting the dog to make him bleed until he could bear no more. But none came. He opened his eyes only for the K9 not having its attention on him, but on his team. More specifically, his best friend.
Zuma slowly took a step forward, his limbs trembling in fear and his heart was beating out of his chest. Fear was evident in his posture, but he stood brave, wanting to get his friend out of the paws of the wild animal pinning him. Zuma swallowed his fear and spoke, "h-hey, there..."
The wild dog growled in response, telling him to leave them alone. Emerald eyes glaring daggers at the brown pup, its teeth sharp and ready to bite. Zuma was scared. He was terrified. Not only was he risking his friend's life, but also his own. He needed to calm this dog down. He needed to save his best friend. Rocky has been there with him through thick and thin and he was not going to abandon him now. His eyes drifted to Rocky. His best friend was pleading with him to save him. He was depending on him.
Zuma took a shaky breath and dared to speak, "I... I know you... You're scared..." He stuttered. He took a step of chance, resulting in the dog growling more. The dog bent its body and was ready to fight. It was ready to pounce in order to keep its meal. "P-please... Don't..." Zuma pleaded, "I... I just want my friend back..."
The dog's growling minimized and its posture was softening. "Friend..." A voice whispered in their mind, echoing like it was stuck in a dark cave. "We... we'll leave you alone..." Zuma said, trying to negotiate with the wild hound, "we will never come back here again... Just... Just please..."
The dog stopped its growling completely. They stared at the Labrador. Zuma shifted in his position, uncomfortable under the dog's vision.
The dog sighed as it moved away from Rocky's body, giving him space to move. They walked towards the deer and began to tear a piece of meat from the defunct animal.
Rocky stood, but he didn't move. He was confused. Was... Was that all to convince the dog? Aren't they the Forest Hound? Why wasn't he dead? Why wasn't any of them dead?
As his thoughts were circling around the dog, Zuma was tiptoeing to Rocky. He grabbed his hand, surprising Rocky, but was eased when he saw the familiar face of his best friend.
"Let's go," he urged the mix, trying to get him out of the danger zone. Rocky walked with Zuma back to their team, but before they could go, Rocky asked,
"Are you the Forest Hound?"