This bumpy, ugly creature would surely submit to my greater size and displeased expression. Yet when it did not I immediately lunged forward in a rather cute attempt at an attack, small jaws glancing upon its strange skin as it hopped away. I feign bravery well, my folded ears and snarling expression a perfect mimic of how mom sometimes reacted to dad when she was unhappy. Yips that were meant to scare the beast did nothing more but cause it to sit and croak right back in my face, mocking my bold attempts. How dare it!

I pounced toward it once again, small paws slapping into the water and sending it spraying in all directions as the frog bounced out of reach again. It is only then that black and yellow eyes look up to notice the statuesque figure of the other boy upon the opposite side of the large puddle. My two-toned head tilts to the side in curiosity, for he is the first of my age that I have met, and my tails taps lightly against the ground in anxious glee. ”Who are you?” I question him with a peculiar expression upon my face. I do not smile but I do not appear guarded; despite his unhappy appearance.

But this rather intense stare that had taken hold over me is broken as a silver and black blur leaps from the tall grass. She aims to catch the bullfrog just as I had, yet her paws slide amidst the muck and her muzzle digs into it as she missed. I cannot help it, I really can’t, but a giggle of sorts is expressed at her failed attempt. I had not been the only one to miss the elusive beast of bumps. She tries again, just as I had, only a different approach this time as her head snakes out to grasp it before it could leap. Her momentum is relentless as she clutches the creature and rolls just in front of me, slinging mud upon my black and white coat as she goes.

Another delighted giggle is exuded as I shake off what I can and watch her with more interest now than before. Though she leaves me, her posture carrying a proud step as she moves to wait by the other boy’s side. I instantly jump up and bound through the puddle to where she had stopped, just as she turns to growl at me. I cease my bouncing self before her and the boy, tail stiffened upward and ears erect as I let her speech sink in. Pathogen liked to play this game with me, keeping the scraps of our meals out of my reach until she got bored with the game. I knew how to play along!

I shifted quickly into a play bow, my tail swinging in the air, and leapt forward to try and snag one of the legs of the bumpy, once loud beast. A puppyish growl accompanied my attempt as my rump wriggled with excitement.