Chapter twelve: The Runaway

"Something's wrong."

I said, standing up, looking around, feeling the first seeds of unease sowing themselves in my mind. Reese looked over at me, raising an eyebrow. "RUBY! HERE GIRL!" I yelled, walking off in the general direction I'd thrown the ball, carrying my stuff with me. It'd been almost twenty minutes according to the chimes of the cities bell (it'd been near 3:40 when I sat down to talk with Reese). It never took Ruby that long to find a ball and come back. I looked around, feeling the hot whips of panic start lashing across my back as I scanned my surroundings. Not a sign of the little puppy, not even the yipping that would signal she was in distress. I walked up a nearby hill, "RUBY!?" I yelled, looking around. I saw something, something I really hadn't wanted to see. The familiar, red ball Ruby was playing with, lying unattended on the ground nearby. There wasn't even any slobber on it, only the old teeth markings and claw marks. I dashed over, picking it up. It wasn't even warm.

"Ruby… RUBY!" I yelled, looking around wildly, running towards the woods. I stopped at the edge, whipping my head around as my eyes widened. No tracks, no yipping. Nothing. Ruby was just… gone. "Woah! Jaune, what's going on?" "I can't find Ruby! Oh no! I knew should've put a collar on her! Where'd she go!? What if someone took her! What if she ran away!?" I felt my breathing picking up as I looked around, my vision started blurring. I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder as I whipped around, seeing Reese lightly pushing me down, making me sit against the tree. "Eeeeasy buddy, deep breaths. Let's calm down, panicking won't get us anywhere." she said, keeping those calm eyes locked onto mine. Guess that came with being a police officer huh?

"Let's think about it alright? Ruby's got those cute, stubby little legs right? She can't have gone far. Let's just have a look around alright? Maybe she uh… saw something shiny! Or uh… got distracted by another dog! Yeah… there's plenty of reasons why she might not be here. Let's just look around a little." she said, smiling down at me. I nodded a few times, reaching up and wiping at my eyes, clearing up the panicked tears I'd almost shed. I stood, walking around as I tried to keep calm. She'd turn up soon… we'd find her and I could spend the whole day with her, just like I said I would… right? I walked over the hill, "I'll ask a few park-ranger friends of mine to help look, just head along the paths and keep an eye out for her. We'll find her, okay?" she said, smiling up at me. I nodded, giving her that same smile back. I started walking, frowning the second I stepped away from Reese

"Ruby… where are you?"

…

"He'll never care about us that way. We're just his pet."

I felt a whimper building in my throat as I pushed the ball away, walking off to the side. The voice had been tormenting me again, continually telling me how Jaune could never love me. Despite Pyrrha's words… I felt like the voice was right. How could Jaune care about me that way? I was just a puppy to him, a little dog to pet and love… but never in the way I wanted him to. I kept walking, coming over a nearby hill as I plopped down, setting my head on my paws as I let my eyes gaze around. I saw a group of children playing nearby, all of them running around, laughing, having fun. There was a woman sitting a few feet away on a bench, watching them and smiling. She had light blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, gently moving about the children, never once looking away. She had a kind smile on her face, a long, light orange dress on her body, her hair done up in a bun. I'd not known my mother for long, but this woman just looked motherly, in every sense of the word.

Though, I noticed there was one child not playing with the others. She was all on her own, leaning against a tree, her arms wrapped around her knees. Next to her was a backpack, not with the other twenty or so that the nearby children had lined up against the outer fence. I looked back, seeing Jaune talking with the woman, Reese. "He doesn't care about you, he'd sooner talk to that pretty girl right there. Watch, they'll kiss in just a second." she heard the voice in her head say. She was just thinking how ridiculous it was when it happened. It actually happened. Jaune leaned in closer, the two of them meeting in what Ruby could only guess was a kiss.

(what actually happened)

"Ow! Ow!" "Reese!? What's wrong?" I asked, reaching over. She blinked a few times, pointing at her eye, I reached over, placing my hands on her shoulders as I leaned in, looking closer. She wiped at her eye as I did the same, gently moving my finger around before sitting back. "Better?" "Better, thanks Jaune."

(back to Ruby)

I turned away, my heart shattered, as I started walking down towards the little girl. Her eyes a strange mixture of pink and brown, the same color as her hair (though her hair did have a small strand of white in there). The girl's face was twisted into a frown as she watched the grass, swaying back and forth in the wind, her hair doing the same. I frowned, she looked so alone… "I wonder why no one else is playing with her?" I thought as I started walking towards her, trying to get a closer look. I saw one of the kids throw what seemed to be a small ball towards the young girl, landing right in front of her. He walked over, only to freeze whenever the girl looked up at him.

The girl just gazed at him, slowly turning her eyes back to the ball as the boy, his eyes full of fear, slowly reached down, picking it up before slowly backing away. The girl kept watching him until he turned behind the tree, running full speed back towards his friends. I frowned… well, as much as I could in my puppy form anyway, and started walking towards her again. I was only a few feet away, but she gave me no indication she'd seen me. No watching me, no asking who's I was, no nothing. She just… sat there. Staring off into space. I slowly padded over to her, to the point I was right next to her. "YIP!" I barked, hoping to get her attention. She slowly turned her head towards me, her eyes both flashing white as she looked down. She didn't smile though, keeping that same blank expression on her face as she turned back around.

I walked over, rubbing against her ankle, exposed by her shorts due to the somewhat cool weather. She looked down at me, lightly pushing me away with her hand. I felt confusion hitting me, "Huh… no one's ever denied my request for petting… is she okay?" I thought. I tried again, only to get the same result. I was about to try and third time before I had a better idea, walking around to the other side. I squatted down slightly before I jumped up, the girls eyes widening in alarm as I landed where I guessed her lap would be. She stretched out her legs as I settled down, making myself as adorably small and snowball-like as possible. "Come on, pet me! You know you want to! Cheer up!" I thought, trying to convey that as I shut my eyes, rubbing into my own tail.

It seemed to work, since I felt a hand gently placing itself on my back a second later. I opened my eyes, smiling (again, as best I could) up at the girl as she slowly ran her hand along my back, her face cracking into a small smile. I stayed like that for a few seconds until she moved her hand away. At that point I padded along her legs, reaching up towards her stomach as I noticed just how short she must've been. I mean, if I was in her lap and could reach her face to lick her little cheeks… well, I'd never known anyone that small. She shut her eyes and smiled wider, the faintest hint of a chuckle coming out of her as she rubbed my head, pulling me back down. I saw one of the other children walking over, the young girl whose lap I was in setting me down behind her backpack.

The other child, a guy from the looks of it, just looked down at the odd-eyed one I'd been petting. "Hey… a new game's about to start." they said, smiling down at the girl. She looked back blankly, no indication she'd changed anything except that one of her eyes was brown now, the other pink. The boy started shifting on his feet as he looked around, seemingly trying to think of his next words. "We uh… we'd like you to play Ice Cream." the second he said that he covered his mouth with both hands, a few of the other children looking over at him, all of them freezing. Ice Cream, apparently that was a nickname of hers, looked at the ground, her eyes cast in shadows as she clenched her hands into little fists. The boy started backing up, "I-I didn't mean that! F-Forget I said anything! Sorry! You can do what you want! Bye!" he said, turning around and full on sprinting back towards the safety of the children.

Ice Cream sighed, looking off to the right as the children, the threat seemingly past, resumed their game. I turned, looking over at Neo. She looked down at me, both her eyes brown, but turning white again when she smiled at me. She held out her hands, and I was all too happy to jump towards them, letting her hold me up for a second before cradling me in her arms, running a hand along my back. I smiled, "She's doing it just like Jaune… like… Jaune…" I shook my head, trying to ignore it and just focus on the sensation of being pet like I usually did… it wasn't working. "You are such a handful… but you are SO worth it." I could almost hear Jaune's voice saying in my head as I shut my eyes. That made it worse, now I could almost see Jaune's smiling face.

"You know what day it is Ruby, go get your sister!" I heard his voice say, the same thing he'd say every Saturday morning. I could help the small tears that fell from my eyes, the slight whimpering. Ice Cream, fortunately, seemed to sense this, pulling her hand back and setting me in her lap, rubbing her hand along me. I smiled again, at least Jaune didn't do this anywhere near as often. "KIIIDS! IT'S TIME TO GOOO!" I heard a loud, slightly deep voice say. Ice Cream pouted down at me, a pout that made me reach up and lick her cheek once again. She smiled down at me, but pulled me away from her, standing up and stretching. I looked back towards the hill, frowning as I remembered Jaune and Reese kissing (a/n- you know, that thing that didn't happen?). I padded over, curling up in Ice Cream's backpack as she hoisted it up, zipping it shut as I closed my eyes. Maybe some time away would get the voice to stop.

"He probably won't miss me anyway."

…

"DAMNIT!"

I yelled, punching the nearby tree as I sunk down, my head falling in my hands, tears threatening to fall. Hours. We'd been searching for hours. No footprints, no fur, no Ruby. She'd vanished. Or, it would be more accurate to say, she'd been taken. "Jaune… I'm sorry. We'll find her. She's out there somewhere. I'll file a report for a missing pet for you, just go home." "NO! I can't… I can't go back until I know she's okay!" I said, glaring up at Reese. She just sighed, getting down on a knee next to me. She placed a hand on my shoulder, her eyes meeting mine. "Jaune… I understand how hard it must be. Leaving something you care about so much. But please listen to me… you can't help Ruby at all by staying out here. She's not in the park, we've looked everywhere. She must be in Vale somewhere… she's a smart dog, maybe she'll have found her way home by now even." Reese said, trying to cheer me up.

It wasn't working.

"This is all my fault… I should've put a collar on her… I should've paid more attention to her… it's all my fault…" I whispered, feeling tears starting to flow down my cheeks. I didn't try and stop them. I'd lost her… I'd lost Ruby. The little snowball I'd had for so long brightening up my day… she'd never shine again… at least, not for me. Reese frowned, "Jaune… if there's anyone you should blame, it's me. I got you to stop watching her. I'm the reason you looked away. And I'm going to do everything I can to help you find Ruby." she said, her eyes filled with a steely determination I'd never seen in her, not in all the… what was it? Three times, I'd seen her? Yeah… yeah, it was three. "How?" "I'm off tonight, I'll skateboard around the most likely places, as the pound, file a report. Some of my friends are walking the beat tonight, I'll ask them to keep an eye out for her okay? Now go home, get some rest… god knows you need it." she said, likely referring to the fact how I was struggling to keep my eyes open.

I stood, walking towards the sidewalk. I looked up, gritting my teeth as I saw the sun setting in the distance. I'd look so long… where could she be? "No… Reese's right. Maybe she's home already… no… Ruby wouldn't just come home would she? Crap… I'll find you Ruby. I'll find you somehow!" I thought, walking towards the exit to the park. When I walked out I looked around, as if expecting to see Ruby running towards me, yipping at my legs and begging me to pick her up. Nope. Nothing but the dark. I turned towards the pet store, feeling my heart weighing heavy in my chest. It was my fault… Logic told me otherwise, Reese told me otherwise… but it was my. Fault. Ruby was gone because I didn't pay enough attention to her. That was it.

By the time I'd reached the pet center, I was hanging my head low, almost at my breaking point. The second I walked through the door, heading towards the back, I heard something I knew would send me over the edge. "J-Jaune! Oh… umm, where's Ruby?" I heard Winter say. I walked past the counter, not even bothering to look up as I reared my head back. I slammed it into the wall, pulling it back and slamming it over and over and over, until eventually I felt myself getting dizzy. I turned around, letting myself fall to the ground as I let my tears flow. I saw Yang and Pyrrha walking towards me as I covered my eyes, my chest filling with guilt. "She's gone… she's gone forever and it's all my fault!" I nearly yelled. I felt a pressure on my arm and I, without thinking, jumped forward, wrapping my arms around who I could only guess was Winter, burying my face in her shoulder as I started sobbing. Let her see it, I didn't care. I'd lost my little snowball. If only I'd paid more attention to her, if only I hadn't stopped to talk with Reese, if only… if only…

Eventually I cried myself out, pulling back and just looking down at my knees, moving them up and wrapping my arms around them. "Feel better?" "No… just tired of crying." I replied, laying my head into my arms. I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder as I looked up, seeing Winter's smiling face a few feet from mine. "Don't worry, we'll find her. I'll help you in any way I can." "Thanks Win-" I looked down, feeling my face flush slightly, "-ter… uh… why aren't you wearing a bra?" I asked. When I'd looked down, I noticed for the first time what Winter was wearing. She was clad in a pair of sleep pants, mine more specifically. Granted, no surprise there, I had a bad feeling Yang would do something like this. What caught me more off guard was what was on her chest.

She was wearing a plain white, button down shirt, one with the top few buttons and most of the bottom buttons chewed off mind you. It was an older shirt from when I was a few inches shorter, and given Winter was only an inch shorter than me, she'd seemed to improvise. She'd tied off the bottom half of the shirt below her breasts, exposing her toned stomach. The reason I could tell she didn't have a bra on was since it was cut so ridiculously low that there was no way she could be. She looked away, "Well when I was feeding Weiss there was a… bit of a spill. I was going to just clean mine when Yang… stole it… she bit my bra off a few minutes later. This um… I didn't want her to ruin your clothes too so… I took this one. It looked old enough." she said, her own face burning red.

I slowly nodded, given how Yang was around people she didn't like, that actually made perfect sense. People that got on her bad side would usually leave with a few extra marks on their body or a lot less clothes. I'd hoped my scent on the clothes would keep Yang from biting them. "It's fine… you can keep them by the way. I think it'll be easier to explain why you're wearing that then why you're naked." I said, ripping a small smile from me and a light giggle from Winter. Then she turned away, looking towards the ground as I saw her face turn light pink. "Umm… would it be okay for me to… stay here tonight? I'd rather not try walking home dressed like…" she moved her hand down, gesturing to her already large bust being amplified by the shirt tied around it, as well as the sweatpants that hugged her hips and rear.

I raised an eyebrow, "How will you get clothes to, you know, eventually go home?" "I'll call a friend of mine, have her bring them over." she said, her face still flushed as she avoided looking directly at me. I just nodded, giving her a slight smile. She smiled back, letting out a sigh of relief. "Thanks… I get catcalled enough, and that's without looking like a belong on a street corner in the red-light district." she said, wrestling a laugh out of me. She was saying it, not me, though we were both thinking it. Yeah, with the shirt like that, the large bust, she really did look like a whore. Not that I'd ever say it to her face. "Yeah… guess we need to find a place for you to sleep huh?" I said, standing up and walking towards the bedroom. I walked inside, only to hear something from outside. "AH! NO! BAD DOG!"

I walked out, turning around and freezing when I heard the all too familiar RIIIP! Sound. Winter was standing there, her mouth hanging open as she looked at me, her face somehow both pale and burning red. I saw Yang dash off towards the adoption center, a piece of gray fabric in her mouth. I saw Winter's hands fly to her crotch as my eyes unconsciously trailed down, down her long, muscular legs, all the way down to the pair of destroyed sleep pants around her ankles. I met her eyes, the two of us staring at each other for a beat longer before Winter screamed, sinking to the ground as I spun back, behind the door. "J-JAUNE! DON'T LOOK!" "I'M NOT LOOKING! I SWEAR! PUT SOMETHING ON!" I shouted, covering my eyes with my hand as well as shutting them as I felt Winter dash past me. "WOAH!" we both said as I felt my eyes fling open, my hands both flying to the side to stop me.

I looked down, about to apologize for falling on her when I froze. There was Winter, her wrists trapped beneath my hands, her hair splaying out around her and her face burning brighter than anything I'd ever seen. Her eyes were sparkling blue as I felt my eyes trail down, her large chest heaving slightly with both embarrassment and exertion. "W-Winter…" "J-Jaune… I… this… you…" she seemed at a loss for words. Hell, so was I. We were both frozen, gazing at each other. Until, that is, I felt a sharp pain on my ankle. I turned around, reaching over and lightly petting behind Pyrrha's ear as I stood, making sure to keep facing Pyrrha. I heard Winter scrambling to move, likely to go grab some other clothes of mine as I tried to get the image of Winter splayed out beneath me out of my head… still trying… still trying… aaaaaand it's burned in there for good. Nevermind.

"You can turn around now." I heard Winter say. I turned around, raising an eyebrow when I noticed her choice in attire. A pair of my boxers, gripping tight to her body as I tried, key word tried, not to stare at her thighs. "Uhh…" "I couldn't find anything else!" she said, glaring at me as if challenging, no, daring me to question her. I slowly nodded, turning around and shutting the door as I walked over, pulling out the drawer Weiss was in. Her eyes were shut, and she was fast asleep when I slowly lifted her out. I smiled at her, "Well… at least you're okay during this nightmare." I thought as I walked back into the room, seeing Winter on her scroll. Where's she'd stored it… frankly, I didn't want to know. I turned around and locked the door behind me. I'd rather Yang not get in and try stripping Winter again.

She set her scroll down on the nightstand, letting out a sigh. "My friend, can drop off a few things for me tomorrow morning. Until then…" she trailed, off, looking away from me. I slowly nodded, walking towards the bathroom. I walked in, giving one last look at Winter before I handed her the sleeping Weiss, shut the door, and started peeling off my sweat covered shirt and pants before I went to grab my sleep pants from the towel closet. "Jaune I…" I turned, Winter's eyes trailing down me as I turned around, her face slowly growing more and more red as I reached over, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around my waist. "You… don't have to cover up on my account." "Umm… okay?" I said, raising an eyebrow as I set the towel back in the hamper, Winter shutting the door behind her.

I walked out, looking over to see Weiss in her little crib, Winter's face burning as she looked down at the counter. "Winter." "I WASN'T THINKING ABOUT YOU! I… I mean… yes, Jaune?" she asked, turning around and trying to keep her eyes on my face. I could tell it was taking a lot of willpower for her not to look down. I mean, I wasn't personally that embarrassed, growing up with seven sisters and sharing a room with three of them would do that to you, but Winter? Oh she looked like she was about to pass out. I grabbed one of the pillows from my bed, setting it on the ground. I turned, grabbing a blanket from the closet. The second I looked over though, I noticed Winter already curled up on the ground. "Uhh… I meant for you to take the bed Winter. I'll sleep on the floor." I said.

She looked up at me, raising an eyebrow before she shook her head, "It's your home, you should take the bed. I'm fine on the floor." "Winter, you're my guest. I insist." I said, gesturing towards the bed with a small smile. She looked down for a second before she nodded, standing up and walking over to the bed. She laid down, pulling the covers over her and, seemingly, going straight to sleep. I laid down on the floor, turning up and looking towards the ceiling, the hard floor on my back and the soft pillow against my head. "Ruby… she'd be sleeping right now… crawling up next to me maybe…" I couldn't help but think as I frowned, shutting my eyes as I tried to fight down the tears and the memories. I knew I couldn't… there were too many of them.

"Having trouble sleeping?" I heard Winter ask. I looked over, seeing her eyes shining at me in the darkness. She rose up slightly, her hair flowing down to her shoulders, illuminated by the moonlight behind her, giving a heavenly glow to her. If I didn't know any better I'd say she was an angel. "Are you?" "I umm… it's hard for me to fall asleep when I know what's waiting for me." she said, looking away from me, towards the nearby wall. I just nodded, nightmares. I kind of knew what she was talking about, being as one of my sisters had a rather similar problem, constant night terrors. The way I helped her though… "Did your parents ever comfort you?" "No. Not once." she said, her gaze blank, but I could see the fire behind her eyes, an inferno with no means of escape, forced to build up pressure.

I stood, walking over to her and laying a hand on hers. "Well… back when I had nightmares, my mom would always come in, she wouldn't leave until morning, even when I was already asleep again." "That… that must be nice. Would you… would… forget it." Winter said, her face burning as she looked away from me. I gave her a warm smile as I placed a hand on her shoulder, slipping a leg into bed. "I'll do that for you… if you want that is." "Why would… I… I'd like that… thank you…" she said, smiling at me as I saw her give in, scooting over slightly as I, fighting a blush stronger than the inferno behind her eyes, laid down next to her, at arm's length. Ours eyes met, we both blushed. "Was this… how your mother did it?" "Well… she'd always hug me too but… if you… want…" I said, feeling my mouth going dry as I looked over at her.

She just nodded, holding out her arms as I wrapped mine around her, pulling myself up slightly as I rested my chin on her head, trying to ignore her breasts pressing near my stomach. I could hear the smile in her voice as she spoke, "It's… nice…" "Yeah… being next to someone is always kind of nice I think. Reminds us we aren't alone… no matter how hard things get. That we have someone right there for us." I said, smiling down at Winter. She looked up, smiling at me as I felt her leg slip over mine, wrapping around as she nuzzled into my chest, her breathing getting steady as I felt my own body start relaxing. One last thought hit me before I fell unconscious.

"Wherever you are Ruby, I hope you're doing okay."

…

"Okay everyone! Time for bed!"

I heard the voice of Ms. Peach, the headmistress of the orphanage say as I walked towards my bed. I sat down my backpack near the bed, quickly slipping off my clothes and pulling on my pink nightgown before I pulled back the sheets. I was about to get in when I saw my bag move. I thought I might've been seeing things… then it moved again. I could've sworn I heard a whimper this time too. Some of the other girls seemed to take notice, walking over. I heard a low growl from my bag as the other girls started crowding around. "What's going on?" "The bag is growling!" "Is there a demon in there?" "What if it's a fox?" "It's her bag, she can handle anything that comes out." "Shh! She's opening it!" I heard twenty voices saying at once as I slowly reached over, getting on one knee and unzipping the bag. The second I did so, I heard an all too familiar sound.

"YIP! YIP!"

That sound was followed by a small ball of gray and white fur rolling out, looking up at me and giving a little bark. The girls around me went ballistic. "EEEH! IT'S A CUTE LITTLE PUPPY!" "AAAAAW LOOK AT THOSE WIDDLE PAWS!" "SHE'S SO CUTE!" "I WANNA PET HER!" "CAN I SNUGGLE WITH HER NEO!? PLEASE!?" I heard them all yelling as the little dog padded over to me, reaching it's paws up and licking my face. I couldn't help but smile as I reached down, sitting up and petting it. She seemed to like it, curling up and giving out a cute yawn as she nestled into my lap. "GIRLS!?" all of us froze for a second as we heard that voice, the little dog looking up. We looked over, seeing Ms. Peach walking towards us. One of the girls took the little dog, setting her down on the ground beneath the bed, ducking under.

"What is all the commotion about? Is someone hurt?" "No ma'am! Uh… Octavia!" one of the other girls said, pulling the shortest red headed girl in front of me, holding out a hand towards her. "Was uh… showing us her puppy impression! She looked so cute… we're sorry about the noise." "Puppy, impression? This I have to see." she said, smiling down at Octavia. The other girls all froze, except for the one that had spoken. The pink haired girl with the mismatched eyes (kind of like my own) just nudged the red head, motion towards my lap. Octavia nodded, walking over and laying her head in my lap. I got the idea, playing along as I reached up, rubbing her head slightly. She closed her eyes, rubbing against my stomach for a second before she licked my cheek. "YIP YIP!" she said, leaning against my shoulder as the girls started awwing again.

Ms. Peach let out a chuckle, "As adorable as that is Octavia, I'd think it's about time for bed girls. I don't like disciplining you, so don't misbehave, okay?" "Yes Ms. Peach." everyone but me said in unison. She walked away, everyone acting like they were walking towards their beds until the door shut, then they silently dashed over me, the other girl, still holding the little puppy, getting out from below. "Thanks for taking a dive Octavia." "No problem… hey! Don't stop!" Octavia said, glaring at me when I stopped petting her hair. I kept doing it, seeing that, while it was mostly an act, she seemed to actually enjoy being pet. The pink haired girl took the puppy, sitting down before she smiled over at me.

"I don't know where or how you got this puppy, but she is too cute to just let roam the streets." "Yeah!" "Protect the pup!" "We can't leave her!" everyone started agreeing, keeping their voices as low as they could. We waited for a second when we heard footsteps, but when no one came, they started talking again. "She seems to like you, but I say we all take care of her right? Octavia can get water, Gwen," she pointed to a dark haired girl, "Can get spare food from the kitchen, Nebula," she pointed to a girl with purple hair, "can get some spare bedding for her to sleep on, and Dew," she pointed to a blonde girl," Can hide her when we're working, thanks to her leg." the was obviously referring to the fact that Dew had a limp, making working around the orphanage borderline impossible for her.

I just nodded, smiling at them as the other children all walked off to their own beds, Octavia standing up and giving me one last lick on her cheek (she took that role very seriously) before scampering off to her own bed. The other girl smiled at me, reaching over and petting the little dog. "What's her name anyway?" she asked, looking over at me. I just shrugged. How was I supposed to know? I'd seen her once, she'd had no collar and had apparently decided to follow me home. The girl slowly nodded, frowning as her eyebrows knitted themselves in thought. Then she smiled, "Snowball! Look at her! She looks just like a little snowball!" she said. The little 'snowball' looked up, giving a quiet yip before licking the other girls face. I guess she liked the name. "Snowball it is." then she held out her hand, "I'm May by the way, I don't think we ever officially met. I hope we can be friends!" she said, giving me a bright smile. I returned it with a smaller one, as well as a nod.

"With little snowball's help, maybe we can be."