if Luna had made any progress. She was still barely visible, but he happened to glance at the ground behind him. “Footprints!” he grunted to the others. “We're... making... headway. Don't... give... up! Push!”
Inch by inch, millimeter by painful millimeter, they managed to give their father and big sister the footing they needed to move backward across the treacherous ground, until finally first one paw, then two paws, then two legs, and at last all of Luna was safely over the edge. Toby and Arrow, freed of the weight, tumbled backward, and the pups fell with them like dominoes. Everyone was, if you'll forgive the expression, dog-tired.
“Okay,” Luna panted. “I do not... want... to do that... ever again.”
“Amen,” Toby agreed, dragging himself to his feet. “Everyone alright?”
“I'm good,” Arrow gasped.
“Fine.”
“OK.”
“Alive.”
“Still breathing.”
“I'm alright,” reported the pups.
Luna, to the surprise of the pups, began to cry. Angel ran up to her and started to lick away the tears. Toby moved his head over both of them. “Luna, what's wrong?”
“Nothing, I'm fine,” she sobbed. “It's just... I was so scared. I thought I was going to die, and I knew if I fell you wouldn't let go, and... and...” after that her words were lost in more tears.
“But we made it, Mommy,” said Zar. “You're okay.”
“Thanks to Caspar,” Mel put in.
“Caspar?” asked Toby. “That was you?”
Caspar shrank a little, embarrassed. “Everyone helped,” he said. “But yeah, it was my idea.”
Toby laughed. He hadn't been able to tell who was shouting in the heat of the moment, but now that he knew, he laughed. “Good job, son!” he approved, ruffling the fur on Caspar's head. “You saved us all.”
Caspar's tail began to wag.
Luna, meanwhile, had managed to recover from her fright and find her feet. “You did a very good job,” she smiled, nuzzling him.
“Aw, Mom,” he groaned, flinching away from her nose.
Toby laughed. A hero one moment, and a regular pup the next. That's my boy, he thought. “Well,” he said out loud, noting the now-setting sun. “I think we've had enough of our little cliff-top vista. Let's go home.”
“Yeah,” groaned Arrow, neck still sore from the effort of pulling Luna up. “Home sounds really good right now.”
“Come on, Caspar,” said Zar as the pups gathered at the path. “Heroes lead the way home.”
Toby stopped him. “Uh, hold onto that thought for a minute. We'll catch up, but first I've got to have a talk with him alone.”
Caspar waited in silence as the rest of the group headed down the trail. Then he turned to his father. “I just want to tell you how proud I am of you,” Toby said.
“I just did what you would have done, Dad,” he replied.
Toby shook his head. “Nuh-uh, tiger. Not even close.”
Caspar was stunned. “But... but-but I thought...”
“You,” Toby went on, “Were ten times better than I could have been at your age. It's time you knew the truth, son. You're not like me. I'm a soloist at heart.”
“A soloist?” asked Caspar, puzzled. “What's a soloist?”
“A do-it-yourselfer,” he clarified. “I work okay with groups sometimes, and I sure work well with your mom, but you're different. Special. You're a leader.”
“I am?” asked the pup, eyes wide.
“Yes,” said Toby, so proud he was fighting tears. “Look at you. You're not even as big as your brothers, but when the time came you saw what had to be done and you got them to work together. You didn't have to explain your plan, they just followed you because that's what you are. It's who you are. You were born to lead the way.”
“Wow,” Caspar whispered.
“Now,” Toby added, “Why don't you lead the way to the rest of the family? I don't know about you, but I'm getting cold up here.”
“Yeah,” Caspar shivered. “Me too.”
As they set off down the path, Caspar looked up at his father. “So what am I going to lead, anyway?” he asked. “A sled team? Maybe some police dogs like you?”
Toby laughed. “I don't know,” he admitted, “But something tells me it's going to be great.”
The Beginning...
Copper, Taya © Redwolf03
All other characters © Dragon Tamer