Paws
by Winter

Paws leaned down and sniffed the ground, his tail sticking right up behind him. When he found the scent he was looking for, it started wagging from side to side, and he let out a happy yip. For a second he remained indecisive; which way to go? Left or right? The scent turned stronger to the right, so he started following the trail. For every step he took, the scent grew stronger and stronger, and his tail wagged faster and faster.
After a couple of minutes, he reached a bend in the path he was following, and there stood his boy. The anxious look on the boy's face made Paws hesitate; would he be scolded for getting lost? All he had really done was to chase a pretty butterfly, and suddenly he had been somewhere new. Somewhere he didn't recognise.
Lost, lost, lost.
Then the boy turned around, and broke into a warm smile. Paws's tail wagged harder than ever, as the two closed the gap between them, and he was lifted up into a fierce hug.
"There you are, silly puppy! Never run away from me, ever again!"
If he had known words, Paws would have promised and promised to be good and stay close, at least until the next butterfly showed up. Instead, he covered his boy's face with licks, enticing giggle after giggle.
When he was finally let down, Paws made sure to stay right by his boy, all the way home.
At least, until he spotted the squirrel...