White paws dig into the dry summer earth Taika spins around, doing my best to avoid crashing into my new friend. My tongue sticks out of the side of my mouth, as I pant from our running about. As she speaks of the wondrous fairies, my ears prick forward, taking in her every word. There are so many different kinds of them! I had just begun how to wonder how I had missed them so far when Taika approached. My tail wagged of its own accord, indicating that I did not mind her presence.

Well if you have to let yourself see them, no wonder I had never heard of them! My father and mother had not believed in play itself, much less anything more fun! My gold eyes follow Taika’s gaze upward, the trees - and they were trees again, no longer bird feathers - swaying gently in the breeze high above their heads.

As Taika described the fairies, my tail’s wagging increased. I had seen these things! My smile grew wider, teeth shining in the bit of sunlight that made it through the canopy.

“I have seen those things!” I said, my voice alight with excitement still.

Paws shift on the dirt, springing after Taika, dodging trees just as capably as she. The wind moving through her fur offset the hot summer air. This was where she should be, running freely through the trees, not sitting at home babysitting her little siblings. Why that task had fallen to Neverland rather than her littermates, she did not know. She was hardly the most responsible of the three.

Catching on to the game, she pushed herself forward to Taika’s side.

“This way!” I shouted, following a sparkle of water through the trees. They had managed to roam close to the swamps, and even the dirty water promised a cool relief on a hot day.