THIS BELONGS TO ★Wingflight★ 02:37, December 30, 2016 (UTC)!
Chapter One[]
The mouse rustled in the grass, chewing on a grain. I carefully crept forward, cautiously laying one paw in front of the other, holding my tail above the grass. I was right behind it now. And with a small burst of satisfaction, I struck down my paw and landed the killing blow. The force of my paw snapped its spine. I picked up my catch and trotted off to show my brothers.
They were herding Master's flock of sheep farther down the field. I ran closer to them, but leaped back as they drove the flock right past my nose. I hung back while they finished the job. As the last of the bleating sheep were herded safely into the pasture, the two collies doubled back to me.
Even though we were born in the same litter, my two brothers, Buddy and Major, are nearly three times my size. Mama died giving birth to us, so she didn't name us. But Master named my brothers. Not me. Buddy says he forgot me because I'm too small to herd. Major says it's because I'm so small, he never noticed me. I don't know which to believe, but either way, they call me Runt.
We're Border Collies. Aside from size, we look pretty much the same, except Major's got a scar on his muzzle where a wild cat scratched him. We live on a farm next to the moor. Major says there's wild cats living there, and they all ganged up on him when he went exploring.
He makes them sound so wild and uncontrollable, but I know there must be more to them. I've never seen one, but Major says there small and fast--fast as the wind, he said--with claws like little thorns. "You don't want to run into 'em," he'd warned us. "They fight like they're warriors."
I hadn't believed him at the time; I thought he was spinning tall-tales, trying to get me scared. After all, the only cats I knew were fat and lazy, living off mice in the barn. They wouldn't hurt anything but their prey.
I broke out of my thoughts as Major and Buddy skidded to a halt in front of me. "What's up, runt?" Major barked.
I dropped my mouse at his paws. "See what I caught!"
My brothers looked at it, and for a moment I thought they would treat me like a real dog instead of something unpleasant they'd stepped on.
But those fantasies vanished as Buddy snorted. "More likely the cat caught it, and you stole it to show off," he scoffed. "A runt like you couldn't catch a mouse if it played dead at your paws."
"But I caught it!" I spluttered indignantly. "I caught it myself!"
"Well, if that's the case, maybe you should run off and tell it to the wild cats." Major seems amused as he gets up, beckoning to Buddy to follow. "Come on, let's go and keep the flock in line."
I barely had time to pick up the mouse before they ran off again, barking sharply at the sheep. I shook out my ruffled fur, stalking away into the grass. "Well, if that's what you think," I huffed to no one, "then so be it."
Chapter Two []
I stalked angrily away through the field, mouse still in my jaws. Why can't they see me for who I am? They think they're so much better than me just 'cause they're bigger than me. Well, I decided, I'll show them. I'll show 'em I can be big too. I can be big in my heart.. at least bigger than they'll ever be. I pushed blindly through the grass for a while, still fuming over my brothers' dismissal of my catch, my thick fur spiking. I'll show them.
I had no idea where I was going, but I didn't care. As long as it took me away from my brothers, I was fine.