Fire Emblem: Before Awakening

A Boy's Best Friend

Chrom

"I can't believe you're getting a puppy!!!" Lissa exclaimed, skipping through the hallways.

I rolled my eyes. "Lissa, calm down!" I chuckled. "I'm not getting a dog for the sake of having one. I'm getting a hunting dog!"

Frederick nodded. "Your brother is right. He is at the age where it is finally time for him to select a canine companion to accompany him on hunts."

Lissa appeared to not be listening. "Whatever. You barely hunt, anyway," she sighed.

"Hence why I'm getting a dog right now! So we can learn together!"

"As long as I get to pet it, I don't care what you do."

Frederick and I exchanged a glance. "Is bringing her to the castle kennels really a good idea?" I asked.

The knight looked defeated. "I tried to keep the plans of our visit there a secret, but she still found out. I'm afraid there's no convincing her otherwise."

"Of course."

My fourteenth birthday came and went like a summer's breeze. Ever since I turned thirteen, a lot of my training has varied. I wasn't just learning swordplay, but I was finally being schooled in cavalry, polearms, archery, and a ton of other things!

Since my training in the hunt was going well, it was decided that I needed a puppy to train. I would be taught how to handle the puppy and what to do with it, but I would receive no aid on actually training the puppy itself. It was up to me to teach this puppy what to do.

Lissa began to jitter with excitement. "I hear barking! We're close! I can't wait to see all the puppies!"

I cleared my throat. "You know, Lissa, you could go to the kennels whenever you want."

"I know! I just get distracted by everything else!"

Frederick sighed. "She's hopeless, sometimes..." He placed a hand on my shoulder. "Remember, Milord, whichever dog you pick will be your companion for a very long time. Choose wisely. This will be the first dog you have ever trained, so I advise you to pick from a more...easygoing breed."

I raised an eyebrow. "What does that mean?"

"If they do nothing but run around, choose something different."

I shrugged him off. "I think I can pick a dog on my own, thank you," I muttered under my breath. Still, I don't even know where to start! I guess I'll just have to see when I get there! Emm said that my heart will tell me the right decision. I hope she's right.

...

I was overwhelmed. There were so many puppies running around that I couldn't tell what was what.

"LOOK AT ALL THESE DOGS!!!" Lissa screeched, allowing a litter of lab puppies to tackle her.

"Careful, Milady!" Frederick sighed, running a hand through his hair. 

My throat suddenly felt dry. Gods, there are so many to choose from! I don't know which breed is right! But I want to make this decision myself! Why is this so difficult?

Taking a deep breath, I forced my legs to move. They're just puppies. I can do this. It's not like this decision will change the world. According to the woman who oversaw the kennels, the litters I was choosing from contained pups that were almost eight weeks old.

A lot of the pups already showed the signs that Frederick warned me of. But at the same time, how could you blame them? They were just puppies! They didn't know any better!

After a few minutes of searching, something caught my eye. A small, red-furred retriever pup was sniffing my feet. It had a white tipped tail and paws; its nose impossibly pink. Then, it looked up at me with the purest light-blue eyes I've ever seen.

I knelt down to scratch the pup's head. "Hello there, little guy." The pup yipped, wagging his tail and trying to nibble on my fingers. I smiled. "Are those affectionate bites or do you want to eat me?"

"Milord, have you found something to your liking?" Frederick asked, approaching me.

The pup seemed to like it when I rubbed his ears. I think I get what Emm meant, now. My heart felt full yet light at the same time. "Yeah, I think so. I choose him."

Frederick gave him a skeptical look. "...Are you certain? That particular breed is quite difficult to train. They have more energy than your sister!"

"I don't care." I took the pup into my arms and stood up. "I choose him as my companion." He took an interest in my hair and tried biting it.

"...As you wish, Milord," he sighed. "But he is your responsibility. For the next few days, you should keep him by your side. Show him the castle and people. Then, when he is accustomed to everything, then you shall begin your training."

"Of course." I smiled down at my new puppy. He was preoccupied with trying to eat me. We'll work on that. Once he's done teething, I'm sure he'll calm down. How hard can this be?

...

Barin. I decided to name him Barin. It meant noble fighter.

I strolled the castle grounds, Barin in tow. I lead him around with a rope tied to his collar. Soon, he would be able to walk with me without restraints, but I've only had him for a day; he wanted to run everywhere. He sniffed everything that he saw. Being outside in the gardens was something totally new to his puppy senses. 

The rest of the day with him yesterday was...interesting. He chewed on whatever he could - including me. I barely got any sleep last night because of how energetic he was. I hoped that he would mellow down soon, but how long was soon?

"No! Barin, don't eat that!" My pup started chewing on a leaf. "I don't know if that's poisonous to you or not!"

He didn't seem to care. The only time he showed a reaction was when I tried prying it from is jaws. His little growls were adorable, but I couldn't let those distract me. "Drop it, buddy! C'mon! Don't be difficult, now!"

He finally gave up and allowed me to scoop him into my arms. "Don't eat random things, you hear me?" His reply was to bite my nose. 

I groaned. "This is going to be a lot harder than I thought."

*****

We need doggos after angst. Barin is a duck tolling retriever, for reference. Good news! My October Prompts are out and I would really appreciate if you would check them out! Thank you so much for reading and look forward to reading more!