Awakening

"Hey Fluffy, watch this!" Chloe exclaimed as she leapt over a fallen log.

Kai barked in approval and ran over to join her.

They started to play a game of tag, with Chloe running ahead and Kai chasing her.

The trees around them provided ample cover, allowing Chloe to quickly dart behind them and surprise Kai.

Kai loved the game, his tail wagging as he chased after Chloe.

The girl laughed as they played together, forgetting about their mission for a moment.

As they ran deeper into the forest, the trees began to grow taller and denser.

The light filtering through the leaves became dimmer, casting everything in a greenish hue.

Chloe slowed down, her breaths becoming heavier as she realized they had been running for quite some time.

"Ah, Fluffy I'm tired. Let's rest for a bit," she said as she sat down against a tree trunk.

Kai panted happily and laid down next to her, his head resting on her lap.

"Look, Fluffy," Chloe said as she pointed at a butterfly fluttering nearby. "Isn't it pretty?"

Kai watched the butterfly with interest, his ears perking up and his nose making circles in the air as he tried to follow its movements.

Chloe grinned at the sight of her furry friend, rubbing his head and hugging him.

"I love you, Fluffy," she said as she closed her eyes and absentmindedly stroked his fur. "Every day has been so fun ever since you came."

She then held the dog's face, lifting it so he was looking at her.

Kai playfully sprung up and licked her face lighting fast before plopping right back down like a potato.

Laughter filled the air as Chloe wiped the saliva off her face, poking the dog's nose as he panted.

Minutes went by as the two enjoyed the quiet of the forest, Chloe regaining some of her energy back.

They then got up and resumed their trip.

As Chloe and Kai walked deeper into the forest, they came across a small stream.

'Water!'

Kai bounded towards it and bombed in, splashing water all over the place.

"Fluffy, no!" Chloe laughed as she futilely tried to dodge the water.

Kai continued to jump around, splashing Chloe and enjoying himself.

Chloe shook her head, amused by Kai's antics.

She bent down to take a sip of water from the stream and then continued on their way.

As they walked further, Chloe noticed that the trees were getting thinner, and they were approaching a clearing.

"Fluffy, look!" Chloe exclaimed, pointing towards a small hill in the distance. "I think those are the pink flowers we're looking for!"

Kai barked excitedly and ran ahead of Chloe towards the hill.

Chloe followed him, her heart racing with anticipation.

As they got closer, Chloe could see that the hill was covered in a beautiful blanket of pink flowers.

She had never seen anything so lovely before.

Kai ran around the hill, barking and sniffing the flowers, while Chloe began to pick some.

She carefully chose the prettiest ones, imagining the smile on Marie's face when she saw them.

After collecting enough flowers, Chloe and Kai sat down on the grass, admiring the beauty around them.

Chloe wanted to make a flower crown and place it on Kai's head.

However, she failed miserably.

Embarrassed, she settled with just dumping a group of flowers on his head.

Kai reacted by jumping onto her, making her fall over and cuddling her almost aggressively.

She laughed out loud, hugging Kai tightly to stop him from moving around so much.

"Fluffy, this is amazing," Chloe said with a smile, stroking his fur. "I'm so glad we came on this adventure together."

Kai licked her face, and Chloe laughed.

As they sat there, enjoying the peaceful moment, Chloe suddenly felt a shiver run down her spine.

She looked around, feeling like they were being watched again.

"Fluffy, do you feel that?" she asked, her voice trembling.

Kai's ears perked up, and he began to growl.

Suddenly, they heard a rustling in the bushes nearby.

Slowly, small green men armed with weapons creeped out.

Their eyes were big and yellow, having vertical pupils similar to that of snakes.

Their teeth were dirty and yellow and their faces were covered in wrinkles.

There were tens of them, and they had surrounded Kai and Chloe.

Noticing they were in danger, Kai began barking aggressively at the creatures.

However, as a dog raised in a household with no experience with danger, there was a limit to what he could do.

"G-Goblins? Why are there so many of them?!" Chloe's voice quavered as she shrunk back in fear.

A goblin alone could be taken care of by your average adult, but in large groups, they could raze entire villages to the ground.

There are even stories of large goblin hordes taking over towns, overwhelming the defensive forces with pure numbers.

The goblins stared at Kai and Chloe with evil grins as they pointed their rusty weapons at them.

Fear gripped Chloe's mind as her heart began to beat faster and faster.

Her breathing became unstable as the goblins crept closer by the second.

The fear of danger plagued her mind, and tears of panic began forming in her eyes.

"M-Mum, Dad, Marie. Please help me. I'm scared."

Hearing this, the surrounding goblins laughed with cruelty.

They upped their pace toward the two, tightening the encirclement as Kai continued to bark at them.

Panicked and afraid, Chloe covered her head with her arms.

"Stay away!" Chloe screamed, her mind not thinking straight.

Suddenly, her brown curly hair and eyes began to shine with a strange bright light.

Startled, Kai stopped barking and looked at Chloe in surprise.

The ground began to tremble violently as an earthquake began to appear.

The goblins stopped their advance, looking around anxiously as they felt the huge vibrations from the ground.

Staring at the girl shining in bright light, some of the goblins fell to the ground trembling, while others froze on the spot.

Her screaming continued as the earthquake became more and more violent, tears flowing out from her shining eyes.

The birds in the forest chirped loudly as they took to the sky and the animals of the forest howled in distress as they ran in random directions.

After the earthquake grew to a certain point, a goblin in the crowd began to scream and flee away from the girl.

Many more followed suit as they dropped their weapons, shrieking while they ran away.

Even then, the earthquake nor Chloe stopped.

Unaware of the situation she continued to cry, and the earthquake continued to grow.

Kai quickly ran as fast as his four legs could take him to Chloe, tripping and falling a few times because of the shakey earth.

He barked at her and tried to rub his head against hers.

Still, she continued to cry, her eyes letting out bright light.

The shaking continued.

Kai gave it his best because he had to be more forceful.

He shoved his face into the gap between the ground and Chloe's face, turning his body over and constantly rubbing her with his golden fur.

Suddenly, Kai's fur glimmered.

---

Flames.

Flames were all around her, burning the walls and setting everything ablaze.

The hot temperature was suffocating, it made your body scream at you, telling you to run away.

Chloe breathed heavily in fear. 

She didn't know what to do, she didn't know where she was.

'Where am I? Where is Fluffy? Why is there a fire?' She thought.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of unsteady breathing nearby, accompanied by the whimpering of a dog.

She turned around.

The sight made the blood drain from her face.

There was an extremely mean-looking dog and a woman stuck under the flaming rubble. She was all too familiar with their identities.

"M-Mum?"

She stood frozen as she watched her mother and dog struggle under the rubble of the fallen building.

"Chloe!" The woman shouted desperately, the dog barking loudly as it tried to free itself. "Chloe get out of here! Get out of the building!"

The small and chubby dog, Max, finally managed to wiggle his way out from the rubble and ran for the exit.

The little dog turned around and barked at Chloe as if telling her to run.

Still, she froze in fear. It was a horrible memory that gripped her by the soul.

Suddenly, two strong arms lifted Chloe and quickly carried her out of the burning house. 

The sound of desperation was present as the person set Chloe down on the ground.

She looked up.

It was her father.

"Chloe, stay here! I'll go back to help your mother!" He said reassuringly as he ran back into the flaming building.

"No, NO! DAD!" Chloe screamed as she reached out her hand toward the man's back.

But it was too late as the man disappeared into the flames.

Suddenly, her dog, Max, began barking furiously.

Chloe turned around.

Standing some distance away, was a strange figure who was holding a blade. 

Their body was covered in a coat and their identity was hidden by their hood.

However, the coat was not able to conceal their red-scaled skin and the bat-like wings that sprung from their back.

The figure walked closer and closer. The slight waving of their hood revealed the smile on their face.

A second later the angry little dog, who stood between Chloe and the stranger, charged the person to protect her.

"MAX!" She screamed. 

Soon, her world was covered in darkness.

---

She then woke up to some rain. She felt the moisture all over her face.

Except it wasn't actually raining.

It was just Kai who was constantly licking her to wake her up, covering her face in saliva.

The thundering earthquake disappeared, and Chloe's hair colour returned to her usual brown.

Chloe felt the cold and shivering presence of fear slowly residing. She felt warmth and comfort from a strange force.

Her mind calmed down as she lifted her head from the ground.

Her emotions subsided, and she was now able to think.

"F-Fluffy?"

Her voice was now normal, not even a trace of shaking or fear. Her face was visibly confused.

Kai woofed back, wagging his tail and looking her in the eye.

She wiped her tears away with the sleeve of her shirt and patted Kai on the head.

"W-What just happened?"