Dave had spent a whole day hiding in that pack, staying on the surface of the tree. His mouth was dry, thirsty for water.
Fortunately, he wasn't cold, the environment was temperate enough so that no one was at risk of catching a cold. More than that, he still had the same question as before.
"Why has he changed so much... in such a short time?" —he asked himself, looking from the top of the tree as the puppy acted naturally among the other wolves, as if he had already lived there for a long time.
It seemed confusing, or at least curious to him.
He had made the decision to leave and leave the puppy there, as he saw that the wolves could give him a better home than he probably could, but he wanted to say goodbye properly.
What he was looking for, and the reason why he stayed spying in hiding, was that he wanted to find a moment when the puppy wasn't surrounded by anyone so he could approach and say a few words, words that he had been thinking about all night.
He had managed to sleep a little, nestled among the branches and leaves that camouflaged his presence, but the luminous plants ended up waking him up with their brightness after a while; indicating that it was already daytime.
From what he had been able to observe, the pack functioned as a hierarchy.
There was a wolf bigger than all the others, with an "X" scar on his head: the alpha. Everyone in the pack was a dark color, but he had the fur on his chest in a whiter tone; it could well be gray hairs or a mark that differentiated him from the rest.
Then, under his command, was a reddish-brown wolf: the beta. This one stayed going back and forth, supervising the proper control of the activities and functions of each wolf in the pack, as well as keeping watch whenever a puppy wanted to try to leave the safe territory and thus send him back to his mother. He was a very hardworking wolf, more than the alpha.
He was followed by most of the pack, a large number of hunting and capturing wolves. They brought food, protected the territory from invaders, and stayed with the puppies to let their mothers rest.
Lastly, there were the she-wolves who had recently given birth or stayed to care for or nurse the little ones.
The puppies only stayed playing or, in the case of those who were a little older, doing minor tasks within the pack. Among them was the Shiba Inu, who played with the others, jumping from side to side.
The scene seemed really touching to him, so he stayed watching for a while, but suddenly, the other puppies would return to their mothers, leaving the Shiba Inu alone.
Dave bristled his tail, looking attentively in opposite directions if anyone was nearby, and, for the moment, no one was. So it was his chance.
According to what he had planned, he would do the following.
With a small rock that he had brought with him on his tail, he would grip it and throw it at the puppy, catching his attention. Then, he would climb down from the tree and gesture for him to come. And from there, if the puppy said he wanted to stay, then he would accept his decision and leave, wishing him the best.
It was a foolproof plan. For Dave, the reason the puppy attacked him before was that he didn't recognize his scent from being with so many wolves, but if he kept them away for a moment, and made him see him for a while, then he could remember him again.
So, with the rock in his paw, he would aim it at the puppy. He would take a step back on the branch where he was standing, and with his arm outstretched, he would throw the rock at the puppy with force.
The rock would fly so fast that the puppy wouldn't have time to see it, crashing into him just as Dave had planned.
Suddenly, Dave froze. He found a flaw in his plan at the last second. His strength.
And just as he had done, the rock would hit the puppy's side, but it would send him crashing into the rocky wall behind him, making him let out a loud scream.
Dave would stay frozen, it was already too late to redeem himself for his failed plan.
He hurried down the tree to go see the puppy, hoping he hadn't caused him too serious injuries. From what he had seen, he could regenerate, but he couldn't forgive himself for hurting the puppy he had been protecting all this time.
Several wolves went in search of the puppy upon hearing his scream, finding the squirrel in the middle of their territory, chasing her in a pack.
Ahead, the wounded puppy, and behind, ferocious beasts who, angered, wouldn't hesitate to kill him. There was no way, how had he come to this outcome?
The puppy was breathing heavily, bleeding from one of his legs from being injured, and having difficulty breathing. Dave would quickly reach him, using all the strength he had in his 4 limbs, managing to reach the small canine.
He tried to hold him in his paws, lifting him onto his back or carrying him in some way, but it was all in vain. And the ferocious wolves were getting closer and closer. There was no way to escape.
He would die having harmed his friend, devoured and feeling guilty for what had happened.
He wished for a way to escape from this situation, at any cost.
[Skill found: Mass Charge]
[Required skill cost: 1000 points]
The points.
Suddenly, a popup window would appear in front of him, with the solution that could save him.
But, at a really high cost.
1000 points was all he had, all he had saved in his entire life, having killed some squirrel companions, or with different actions. He had been saving up to one day get the skill he had wanted since he was a child. A skill that allowed squirrels to fly. The "Flight" skill, with a cost of 2500 points.
He would lose all his progress.
All of it.
While he thought about what that decision would imply, the wolves were just a few steps away from the squirrel, launching themselves at her.
And he had no choice but to forget about his dream.
And save his life, and the puppy's.
.
.
.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Inside the cave, a loud explosion was heard, coming from the territory of the dark wolves. All the animals looked in that direction, escaping from the place.
Something terrible had happened.