Dasher felt routed to the spot. But I've just had one training lesson with Lucy! "Come on, Dasher!" Lucy growled, butting him forward. Dasher sprinted after Lucy. He could hear the snap of jaws and the snarls and howls long before he saw the fight. It was a mess! Lucy let out a sigh of relief when she saw it. Dasher whipped his head around to stare at her.

"Look, Sword's not here! That means the attack won't last long," Lucy barked, and sprang into battle without another yip. Dasher was left staring at the spot where she was just standing. I have to do something! I have to do something! Dasher frantically looked around, and spotted a holly bush. He divided under it, wincing as the sharp leaves stabbed his paws and nose. He was too scared to care. He crouched under the bush, shivering and whimpering.

Dasher yelped as teeth pricked his tail, and he was yanked backwards out of the bush. The teeth released his tail and Dasher scrambled around to face two snarling dogs. One was a male pit bull and the other was a female Rottweiler. "Aw, I didn't know Flash was recruiting puppies now," the Rottweiler taunted him, slapping his muzzle with one of her paws.

"I'm not a puppy," Dasher barked, just as the pit bull clotted his ear and making him yelp. The dogs laughed.

"You're not? Then show me your battle moves, Dalmatian," the pit bull growled. Dasher froze up. I don't know anything! I don't know how to fight at all. The pit bull and Rottweiler laughed.

"Looks like he doesn't, Hail," the Rottweiler cackled.

"I can tell, Sleet. He'll make an easy victory for us," he snarled, and this time both of them got into attack positions. This time they're really going to hurt me! Hail the pit bull snarled, slamming into him and knocking him onto the ground. Dasher would have fainted from fright if one of Flash's dogs hadn't come to the rescue.

"Too scared to pick on dogs that can fight?" came a challenging voice. Sleet had been heartbeats away from biting his ear, and Hail his neck. Both of them turned around. Dasher picked his head up to see Oz the collie standing there, alone. Oz didn't give them a chance to reply. He lunged at Hail, biting into his shoulder. Hail howled, and Sleet lunged at Oz but was tackled by Pumpkin. That's right! Flash's pack fights to defend! Nobody leaves another dog undefended. Pumpkin grabbed Sleet's scruff and shook her.

"Get out of here," Oz howled. Sleet and Hail barked a few threats before sprinting away. Just like that, the fighting stopped and Sword's dogs ran.

"Thank you so much," Dasher whined, moving into a sitting position.

"Why weren't you fighting?" Pumpkin snarled. "I saw you in that bush!" Oz turned to stare at him, too.

"Uhhh...." Dasher frantically racked his brain for an excuse. "Because... I was, uh, observing! Yes that's right- I was observing the fight to see if I could find any evidence on Trickster's murderer," he said, cocking his head and forcing himself to look happy and honest. Pumpkin looked like she wanted to argue with him, but Oz just let out a woof and walked away. After a few moments Pumpkin followed.

"Dasher!" he looked behind him to see Lucy running towards him. "There you are!" she cried, tail wagging. "I thought you'd gotten hurt." She sniffed him. "Hmm, just a few scratches. Feel okay?" she questioned.

"No," he answered honestly. "I feel rattled- I've never been in a big fight like that before," he admitted.

"That's okay- it's your first fight. You'll feel more confident when I teach you some moves. Come on- Flash is gathering the pack to assess injuries," she barked. Dasher followed her over to where dogs were crowding around Flash, Trip, and the white German Shepherd.

"What's her name?" Dasher asked, angling his muzzle towards the white German Shepherd.

"Oh! That's Frost," Lucy barked, wagging her tail. "She's Flash's mate. She's as important as Trip. She's also going to have puppies!" Lucy's eyes were shining. How can she be happy after that fight? I don't understand packs.

"You all fought well," barked the Alpha. "Clearly that attack was just to provoke us to retaliate. We will not be told when to fight. We'll start planning our own attack right away. Is anyone too injured for a patrol?" he asked.

The tan and white corgi lifted his paw. "I have a pretty nasty bite on my forepaw. I just need a day's rest," he barked. Flash nodded.

"Your request is granted, Peanut Butter." A few more dogs barked out requests.

"What about you?" Dasher barked to Lucy. "You have a scratch on your muzzle."

"Yes, but it's not bad enough that I can't patrol," she replied. "I think I'm going to go ask Flash if I can patrol. We'll need to work harder after that fight with fewer dogs," she barked, then bounded away. Dasher watched her go, then almost bumped into a bull dog as he turned around.

"Watch where you're going, new dog," he snapped.

"Yeah," Dasher looked over to see an Aussiedoodle, who looked younger then him. "You're useless."

"No he's not," Dasher turned his head again to see a Doberman. "He's going to help us find Tricker's murderer, so lay off."

"Do you really believe that?" the Aussiedoodle muttered. "Come on, Sunny," she barked to the bulldog, and they trotted away. Dasher trotted after the Doberman who was already walking away.

"Why are you following me?" she snapped. Dasher stopped walking, taken aback.

"I- I just wanted to say thank you," he answered. The Doberman sighed, suddenly sounding very sad.

"Yeah, whatever." Then she continued to walk away, leaving Dasher totally confused. These dogs are so weird. How the heck am I supposed to fit into this pack long enough to survive Sword's wrath?

Sorry for the random ending! I started writing it a week ago then finished it today, so I forgot where I had been going with it. Next chapter or the one after will be from a dog in Sword's pack pov.