Not knowing what else to do, she followed the sunset.
She was sure she would come across something and-look! Those ducks were so cute! Friends!?
"Hey! Lets play!" That would cheer her up. She tensed up and ran.
"Ouch!" Her side throbbed and her bark startled the duckies.
"Wait! I'm not going to hurt you, Please!" They spread their wings and flew.
"Come back!"
But they must not have heard or maybe didn't understand, because they kept on flying. That was okay! She was okay! But she kinda wished she could get close to the sun like that...
She sighed, shoulders drooping before perking up. There was a town over here, if she could make it before the sun set, she could find somewhere to sleep!
She barely made it in time, and by then burrs and dirt had gotten caught in her curly coat. She stuck to the background, but the town was so small it didn't really matter. Sometimes, she wished she was a cat so she could just lick her fur clean.
"Beast! Mutt! Get back you filthy rat!" Another peoples was screeching and running towards her. She darted as quickly as her leg would allow under a thorn bush, pelt covered in them. He kept saying the words her friend would have gotten in trouble for, before leaving.
She curled up behind a shed.
The next day she was just too sad to get up and look for food. And her leg was throbbing, plus she couldn't see with all this weird gunk on her face.
The next day she didn't get up either. She had gotten lazy, expecting her friend to bring food to her. Dare she say it...
-She had become a 'pet'. Something she promised her mother she would never do. Being a pet was considered a waste of her abilities. It was insulting and considered demeaning by her Mother, and by extension, her. She wanted her mother. And her brothers and sisters. She wanted to play with them too.
She wanted to play chase with them.
There was nobody to play chase wit-her brother! Her head perked up. How could she have forgotten? He had been the only other one to survive. He said he was going to warmer lands. Smart!
She would go too!
After all, it was just like he said-they would meet again!
It was like being reborn. She found food again and gained her energy back. She needed to put on some weight and heal a bit before leaving. The towns people were aware of her presence and didn't like her, but didn't do anything so far.
How nice!
It was when a crowd of people carrying various sticks she knew her time was up. She barked as they chased her out. What fun they were all having! What fun she and her brother would have!
It didn't matter when the sun set-because she had a sun right in her heart.
I'm sorry, Mother! I swear I never gave up! I was just resting my paws for a second!"
She headed down towards what the humans called...the land of fire? That seemed like a warm place. Now, to begin searching for her brother. He was a bit smaller than her before she left, with russet fur and black eyes. They called him fox because of how clever he was. One of his ears was bent weirdly, so that could help.
And yeah, Fire Country was defiantly hotter! Her brother was so smart!
Now she just had to find him...
The towns here, she notice, were much bigger. This one was at least three times as big as the last town she was in. So even though the people weren't as rich as her friends, there was still plenty of scraps.
She continued her routine of finding food and water and then searching for her brother. But that routine was interrupted when the rich people came to town. They were even richer than her friends people, the feast the town threw kept her fed for days!
They were kind and generous and loved animals of all sorts. In fact the chubby woman had a cat who she just couldn't stop hugging! All the other village pets feasted too. She had to stay back, as jumping in the stream could only clean her fur off so much-she was noticeable a stray.
But the mood was so festive no one really cared about her.
Which was...good.
All their attention was on the important looking man. Catching snippets of the peoples conversations, she heard the word 'daimyo'.
She would have been thinking about that for awhile if a flash of russet hadn't caught her complete attention. She darted after it.
"Hey!-"
"-What!"
People shouted as she pushed her way through.
"Sorry!"
The russet turned the corner. And so did she. It was a dog with it's back to her, and judging by the collar around it's neck, obviously a pet.
"Sorry, I thought you were someb-Brother!?"
The dog had turned to face her, black eyes and cauliflower ears coming into full view.
"I think," He began, "we need to talk."