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"Nuuuñeeez! Did ya run away?!" Rico was struggling through the bushes, calling out loudly. He came into a small clearing which was, unfortunately for him, empty.
"Nuñez!" He was starting to lose his patience.
He listened for a while more and just when he was about to screw it all and go back to camp, he heard a squeal, or rather a whimper. Suddenly he felt bad.
"Gabriel?" He asked again, this time in a softer voice, walking to the source of the sound. "You know, if you needed to cry, you didn't have to run away, Pablo also broke today, you know that no one here really…"
He didn't finish because of the strange sight that appeared right before his eyes. Gabriel Nuñez, his co-trainee at the guard training camp, was kneeling on the ground and petting a dog on it's tummy. The dog was white, not very large, with big, bat-like ears and a wagging tail.
"Oh my sweet jaquins…"
Gabriel, hearing a sudden voice, swiftly turned his way and froze. They locked eyes. Rico first looked at his co-trainee, but then, his gaze shifted to the dog…
"Is that a doggy?!" There was more excitement in his voice then he meant to show. But he still jumped over the last bush, got to the dog and started enthusiastically petting it.
"Who's a good boy? You are! You are a good boy! Such a good boy!"
Gabriel finally shook off his surprise. He looked at Rico. Then at the dog. And then once again at his co-trainee, happily petting the dog.
"Rico…? What are you...?"
Rico realised what he was doing. He jumped quickly back on his legs and wiped his hands on his pants. He coughed and started explaining himself.
"Well, you’ve been disappearing right after dinner, for several days in a row now, and me and the rest of the guys started to get worrie- curious. We were curious where you were going in the night, so I came to look for you and, well…"
"Oh, yeah." Gabe scratched his neck nervously. He shrugged and gestured in the dog's direction. "Well now you know why."
Rico just hummed in response. The dog nudged him on the leg, so he leaned down and scratched it behind its ears. For a while the awkward silence fell onto them again, until Rico broke it with a shy question.
"Sooo… what's he called?"
"Huh?"
"Well, did you name him? Unless he already has an owner and a name."
Gabriel rubbed his neck once again.
"Umm, well, I don't know. I think it's a stray, since it doesn't have any collar or a name tag and he's always already here when I come. But I didn't think about a name."
Rico gasped dramatically.
"Wha- Really? I mean, you’ve had him like, three-"
"Five."
"Five days already and you still didn't give him a name? Don't you have any creativity?"
Gabe just shrugged.
"I didn't see the need to. And he's not actually mine, you know? I just feed him and play with him… teach him tricks…"
"He can do tricks?!" Rico's eyes sparkled, like a five year old's on the sight of chocolate.
Now encouraged by his friend's enthusiasm, he took a deep breath and whistled a short, up and down, melody. The dog froze in place, pricked up his ears and looked at him. Gabriel repeated the signal and the dog happily ran to him. But that wasn't all.
Gabe stuck out his index finger and the dog sat down, now sweeping the grass with its tail. Finally he reached out his whole hand and the dog laid down. Well, not exactly laid, just leaned on its front paws in a kind of dog pushup, but Gabriel still patted it on it's side, dismissing him from the command and gave it a bit of a tortilla from his pocket.
He finally looked up at Rico.
Rico was standing there, completely speechless, with his mouth agape and his eyes the size of dinner plates. Finally he picked up his jaw from the ground and got his voice back.
"That was awesome! And you taught him all of that in just three-
"Five."
"Just five days?!"
Gabriel smiled a little.
"We're still working on the "stay down" command. And it IS a really smart dog, you know."
"Then he needs a name even more!" Rico approached the dog and started petting him on his back. The dog, now petted by two people at the same time, closed his eyes and started wagging his tail, rhythmically hitting them both on their knees. "How about Nieve?"
Gabe snorted.
"What, because he's white? Who doesn't have creativity now."
"Hey! You didn't have any ideas!"
"Ok, ok, Nieve isn't such a bad name. Do you like it boy?" He asked the dog directly.
Nieve barked happily. They both laughed, taking this as a yes. They kept petting him for a while more, until Gabe realized how late it had gotten.
"We should probably go back to camp now, before they realize we’re both gone."
Rico sighed and they stood up.
"Bye, Nieve"
Struggling through the bushes back to the camp, Rico asked:
"So, what are you going to do with him? After the camp?"
At first Gabe didn't respond. He walked in front, so Rico couldn't even see his expression. Finally when they were close to the edge of the forest, he spoke up.
"My parents would never agree to having a dog in the bakery."
"Well, you know, if all goes well, you won't be spending much time in your house anyway."
They both smiled at that thought. They went a few more steps in silence until suddenly, Gabe was struck with an idea.
"Listen, what if Nieve was a guard dog?"
"That is… not such a stupid idea, Nuñez." This time he hid his admiration better than the before. "And if the captain says no, I can always take him. You know, I already have two dogs at my place and plenty of room for another." He added quickly, in his usual nonchalant way.
Gabe snorted and gave him a friendly nudge on the arm.
"In your dreams."
"What? You said so yourself, that your parents won't let you have a dog."
"I did, but it does not mean that I wouldn't try. And after all, wanna bet, who the dog would listen to more?'
Rico considered this for a while, but quickly realized that he doesn't stand a chance.
"Ok, Nieve goes with you." He raised his hands to show his defeat. "But, you know, if you ever want him to play with other dogs, mine are always happy to."
"Thanks." Gabe smiled. "Oh and one more thing, don’t tell anyone yet, I'm not sure how the sergeant would react."
"No prob, captain." Rico laughed and imitated a salute.
They both laughed, covering their mouths with their hands, so they wouldn’t wake the whole camp.
Later, as they were going to sleep, they both shared a thought. Perhaps, outside of serving the kingdom, being in the royal guard might also be, just, fun.