Perla looked at the two canines rolling around on her bed and attempted to glare them into submission. It didn't work very well. Why did they have to be troublesome?

The canines were staying with the girl temporarily while her brother - their master - travelled North. Stupid brother.

The largest, a black fluffy affair, stopped chewing on his companion's tail for a moment and looked at Perla, tongue lolling.

"What?" she snapped. "You don't think I'm going to join in or something, do you?"

The canine didn't reply. He almost never did.

"Well I'm not. So there." She crossed her arms childishly and stood her ground.

The second animal, a brown and white scruffy creature that constantly looked like it had fallen into a rubbish-pile, perked up and leapt off the bed. He stopped by Perla's feet and sat back, his expression similar to the black's.

"What!"

The canine demonstrated by biting her sock, digging at her shoe and pulling her one-legged toward the bed.

"I'm...not...going...to...join...in!" She restrained herself... then yelped and fell heavily on her backside, finding not a moment later that she had done exactly what they'd wanted.

Two very wet, very enthusiastic noses covered her in canine-slime and there was nothing she could do about it.

That's okay, she thought as she lay trapped on the floor. As soon as I Impress my dragon will take care of them.

But a niggling doubt remained, under all that canine-slobber. What if she didn't Impress? What if she were doomed to being a chew-toy for all eternity?