(Edited - 9/5/17)

A light gust of wind picked as the leaves of a tree swayed to the direction of the breeze. The sun's rays were gentle and warm.

A person wearing a black jacket was lying on the grass, relaxing, their eyes closed.

The wind stopped and a strange creature that reassembled a fire spirit appeared in front of the person.

"You were looking for me?" the spirit grunted, annoyed.

"Not me," the person responded lazily without opening their eyes. They gestured to another person watching the scenery nearby.

The spirit drifted towards the person. "What is it?" he growled.

"I need you to deliver a message," they said, unsurprised by the spirit's bad temper.

"Why can't you do it?" he hissed, frustrated.

The person did not reply, continuing to stare at the scenery. The spirit followed their gaze and saw a beautiful birch forest.

"I need to investigate something." There was no doubt that the words carried an air of seriousness, and the spirit frowned.

"Fine. Consider it done."

~~~~

Pancer was still pondering on what Flight said. It sounded like the peace in the Kingdom was false and deceiving, which worried the white collared dog greatly.

"If there is a threat to the Kingdom, why isn't anyone doing anything?" she murmured.

"Perhaps they think that there is no threat," Ender pointed out. "It has been very peaceful."

"I'm worried," Pancer sighed. "Paddy and Stripes are still taking it very hard, and any mention of it would trigger unhappy memories for them."

"Time will heal their wounds," he said, glancing at them. "We can only wait."

When they got back, they spotted Rose preparing their food. She saw them and smiled, bending down to pat them. Stripes let out a purr.

There was a piece of salmon for Stripes, and chicken for the dogs. Rose left after they started eating, probably to attend to some important matters.

The friends ate in silence.

"We aren't the only ones upset," Stripes mewed abruptly. "Rose is sad too."

Ender gave her a small nod. "She will move on, just like the rest of us."

Pancer gave him a small nod, agreeing with his words. The conversation died and they were left with silence.

~~~~

Night came too quickly for Paddy's liking. He was not a timid dog, but the nightmares he had last night was terrifying. He did not want to see it again.

Reluctantly, Paddy rested his head on a pillow and drifted to sleep.

He opened his eyes to a quiet moor with a few flowers and barely any trees. The sunlight was light and welcoming, and he relaxed.

Suddenly, Paddy heard a sound and tensed, his body ready to pounce and attack to defend himself. His eyes darted around frantically, looking for the source of the sound.

"Paddy?"

At the sound of Stripes' voice, he turned around. "Stripes, what are you doing here?" he asked, perplexed.

"I should say the same thing," Stripes mewed, looking around. "Why are you doing in my dream?"

"Both of you were summoned here." It was an unfamiliar voice.

Paddy's eyes fell onto a strange... creature, almost like a spirit made of flames. Its eyes were a piercing amber and its almost transparent body resembled a snake.

"Summoned?" Stripes was puzzled.

"Yes, summoned," the spirit snapped, annoyed. "I'm here to deliver a message, so stop wasting my time with useless quesions."

"Wait!" Paddy called. "Who are you? More importantly, whose message are you delivering?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" it growled. "Address me as Snake, if you are insistent on it."

"Okay, Snake, what's the message?" Stripes asked.

"Go to the fields," Snake said simply.

"What?"

"What? Were you expecting an unnecessary mysterious message along the lines of "Go to the place where the sun sets and all will be known in time"?" he growled, exasperated.

"N-not really," Paddy mumbled.

"Both of us have to go?" Stripes asked.

"Of course both of you have to go!" Snake snarled. "I didn't summon both of you here for nothing! Ugh, I'm leaving!"

He disappeared into thin air, leaving Paddy and Stripes to take in what just happened.

"What's with him?" Paddy huffed. "I think he woke up on the wrong side of bed."

"Like you sometimes," Stripes teased.

"I'm not that grumpy!" the dog protested.

"I'm just teasing you," she meowed.

The moor was starting to disappear. "Looks like this is the end of the dream," Paddy commented.

"Let's discuss about it tomorrow," Stripes suggested. "It sounds important."

"Good point."

When the moor completely disappeared, Paddy found himself back at his den, wide awake. What a peculiar dream...

~~~~

"Did you deliver the message?" a figure wearing a black jacket asked, sounding rather uninterested.

"Yes, I did," Snake growled, still agitated. "Could you do me a favour and tell your... friend that those animals are extremely dense? Ugh! Thinking about it makes me so mad!"

"Yeah, yeah," they said dismissively. "I'll relay your message to her."

Snake let out a final huff of annoyance before vanishing. The figure sighed, looking bored.

"There's nothing fun to do around here," they complained to no one in particular, leaning against a tree with their arms crossed.

"Wait a minute..." a smile formed on their face, as if they were scheming something. "She didn't tell me to stay here all day..."

They stared at the image of a dog talking to a cat, deep in discussion, and grinned.

"Looks like I'm finally going to have some fun..."

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Who do you think are the people mentioned in the first few paragraphs? What do you think are their intentions?

What do you think of Snake's grumpy character?

If you enjoyed, remember to vote and leave some comments for improvement. :)