Blain spent the whole night looking up at the sky, hoping Leo would come back. Whenever he got tired, he’d curl into a ball. Any noise, whether it was a small gust of wind or a cracking tree branch, startled Blain into full attention.
“Leo!” Blain barked.
“Forget Leo,” Gus said, yawning. “You’ve been at this all night. It’s nearly morning already, and I’m nothing but a cranky reptile.”
“Well, you speaker of big words, I’m nothing more than a worried canine. There! I said it.”
The two looked at one another for a moment, then suddenly burst into hysterical laughter. Their laughter echoed throughout the forest.
Within moments, the wings of a very excited bird cast a shadow over Blain and Gus.
“You two were very hard to find,” Leo said, descending between Blain and Gus.
The three friends hugged, as much as a Golden Retriever, a parrot, and a snake could hug.