after…after…” and then she lay down and gave in to the tears.
“Don’t worry,” said Taya, trying to console her. “These things are rarely easy. Now listen to me. You go home and get some rest. You’ll see. It’ll be alright.”
Luna got up, sniffing. “Okay,” she said, heading for home. “Thanks, Mom.”
Taya smiled. “Anytime.” Then she too turned and went home, where she sat staring out the front window.
After a while Copper joined her. “What’s up?” he asked.
Taya sighed. “Luna.”
“She’s still got a crush on Toby, huh?”
Taya nodded. “She tried to tell him today, and…well, let’s just say it didn’t go too well.”
“Is she okay?”
“I talked to her and it seemed to help. She’s worried that she might lose Toby’s friendship now that this has come up.”
“I wouldn’t count on it. Toby doesn’t seem like the type to let a thing like that get between him and a friend. And I’ve seen this kind of thing sort itself out before.”
Taya nodded and leaned against Copper, staring out the window for a long time. Then with a start, she saw Toby come running down the street. “Where do you think he’s going?” she wondered.
“I don’t know, but there’s one way to find out,” said Copper, slipping out the door. Taya was fast on his heels.
Unaware of his followers, Toby arrived at Luna’s house and scratched at the door. ‘Please be here,’ he thought. He heard the clicking of toenails, followed by a gasp from the window. He looked just in time to catch a glimpse of Luna ducking out of sight. A moment later he heard scratching from within. Someone opened the door, and Luna stepped out.
“Toby,” she said, talking fast. “I am so sorry about this afternoon. I swear I didn’t…”
“Hey, hey, calm down,” said Toby, putting a paw over her muzzle. “Listen, I’ve been thinking it over, and we need to talk about this. Come on, let’s go somewhere quiet.” He turned and started to walk away, and Luna started to follow. “No, no, no,” said Toby, looking back. “Look, just walk on the other side of the street, okay?”
“But-”
“Trust me,” he insisted.
With no idea what else to do, Luna moved to the other side of the street and followed Toby to the edge of town. Toby didn’t stop until they were out among the snowy hills. Then he motioned for Luna to come over.
“Toby,” Luna began again, “I’m sorry about what I said this afternoon. I wasn’t thinking clearly, and it all came out wrong. Are we…” she swallowed. “Are we still friends?”
“Always,” he said with a smile. “But about this other thing…” he stopped, took a deep breath, and went on hesitantly. “Do you really…like me?”
Luna gulped. “Yes,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Well, I just want to say that I think we should just try being friends-for now,” he added as Luna’s ears drooped, “And then, well, we can see what happens. But no rushing into anything, understand? I don’t want any pressure for either of us.”
Luna looked surprised. “Whoa,” she said. “Did you rehearse that or something?”
Toby shook his head. “I’ve just been thinking a lot, that’s all. Also, I got some advice from my dad.”
Luna nodded. “I’ve sort of been getting some help from my mom. But I guess it didn’t go as well as your dad’s advice.”
“Well that’s gratitude for you,” Taya muttered to Copper as they listened from behind a snowdrift.
“Shh,” whispered Copper.
“You think we should cancel Operation Lightshow?” asked Taya.
Copper shook his head. “Where’s the fun in that?”
“Well, you did freak me out this afternoon,” Toby continued, unaware of the eavesdroppers. “But that was partly because of Pete.”
“Pete?”
“Yeah. See, he’s been teasing me about having a ‘girlfriend,’ so…”
“What?” asked Luna, her ears shooting up in shock. “Do you mean to tell me that you already…”
“No, no, nothing like that,” Toby said quickly. “He’s been saying that you were my girlfriend, so when you actually suggested it…”
“Oh, no.” Luna seemed poised somewhere between laughing and being upset. “I didn’t realize.” After a moment’s reflection she asked, “Is that why you’ve been getting into so many fights?”
“Yeah, I guess it is.”
“Toby,” asked Luna, “Do you mean to say you’ve been getting into fights…about me?”
“Well, not exactly,” Toby answered uncertainly. “But I guess if you want to look at it that way…”
Luna blushed. “That’s very flattering,” she said.
Toby was beginning to feel a little strange. “Uh, yeah,” he said. “My dad said the same thing about you liking me. That it was flattering, I mean.”
“Never mind how your dad feels about it,” said Luna. “How do you feel about it? How would you feel about it if it weren’t for Pete’s teasing?”
Toby got a smug look on his face. “It would take some kind of cosmic event to get me to tell you that.”
As luck would have it, the Northern Lights appeared right at that instant. Luna stared at them for a moment, then smiled at him. “You were saying?”
Toby scowled. ‘Just my luck.’ “Well…” he said, looking everywhere except at Luna. If dogs could sweat, he would have been drenched. “I guess I kind of like you too.”
Luna raised her eyebrow. “Is that what you really think, or just what you think I want to hear?”
“No, no, I really mean it. You’re fun, and smart, and nice, and…” he saw the reflected lights mixing with the usual sparkle of her eyes. “…And kind of pretty.”
Her eyes widened slightly. “Really?”
Toby shook his head. “Heck, no. You’re not pretty at all-you’re beautiful.”
Luna smiled and sprang forward, throwing her front legs around Toby’s neck. “That is so sweet.”
Toby briefly considered trying to slip out of her grasp, then changed his mind and returned the hug.
Taya nudged one of the stray pieces of bottle into the shaft of lantern light, adding a sliver of green to the display. Then she looked at Copper, who was peeking over the top of the hill. “How’s it going?”
Copper smiled back at her. “I think they’ll get along just fine.”
“In what sense?” asked Taya.
Copper knew what she meant. “Don’t worry, I think we can trust them to use their heads. But as far as their friendship goes, I’d say our work here is done.”
Toby, Luna, Rex, Pete, Phoebe, Haley © Dragon Tamer
Taya, Copper © redwolf03
To read the full detail of Rex's story, go here.
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Thanks. I thought it was pretty good.
