Six Months Later...

It was the early hours of a new day. The sun would be rising shortly. But for now the night continued to reign, blanketing the land in a peaceful darkness. Every critter in the Forest was sound asleep, enjoying their dreams for a few moments longer before they would have to wake up.

"Just keep moving, just keep moving..." Gidget mumbled softly in her sleep. The fluffy white Pomeranian started kicking her legs about like she was running in an open field. Jumping to her feet, she knocked her head against the roof of the den. "Ow!" the dog yelped, waking up. Rubbing the sore spot on her head, she looked around at her surroundings. She was inside a thicket den on a soft bed of sand. Getting up to her paws, she felt an itch on her shoulder. Unable to reach it, she brushed it against the thicket wall.

Bad mistake.

"Ouch!" Gidget cried, backing away. She had just been pricked by a bunch of thorns. A moment later, she was scooped up by a taloned forepaw. "Gidget, the sun is not even up yet. You need to go back to bed," Tiberius rumbled, picking the thorns out of her fur. Yawning sleepily, the griffin's son Norman squeaked, "And remember, thickets have thorns and thorns are sharp."

"Right! I remember now!" Gidget reassured her friends. She nuzzled Tiberius's cheek gratefully. Rolling his eyes, the griffin smiled regardless and set the Pomeranian down. "Now come on, bed you two," he said with a loud yawn. Without another word, he flopped down on a soft bed of sand. His son Norman joined his side. Laying beside the griffins, Gidget closed her eyes. Not even a minute later though, she was up and brushing her itchy shoulder against the thicket wall again, prompting a yelp of pain.

"Back to bed Gidget! That was so very simple!" Tiberius muttered, his eyes partially closed. Grabbing Gidget by the scruff, he pulled her back into the nest as he went on, "Sun is not up, that means it's bedtime. Just stay in bed." Nodding her head in understanding, the fluffy white Pomeranian went back to sleep. Not even a second later, she sat up and quipped, "Hey Tiberius-"

"And we're up! Ready to start the day," Tiberius groaned, getting up to his feet. His eyes half closed, the griffin called over his shoulder, "Come on kids, let's go." Wagging her tail, Gidget helped Norman out of bed before she followed both griffins out of the den.

———

"And we were looking for something, something important," Gidget recalled, her voice muffled with blackberries and strawberries. The Pomeranian and the griffins were enjoying breakfast as the sun slowly rose in the sky. Cleaning the berry juice from Norman's face, Tiberius calmly chimed in, "We were looking for Norman."

"Right! I remember it like it was yesterday," Gidget commented, wagging her tail. Leaning towards Norman, the fluffy white dog whispered, "Of course I don't remember yesterday all that well." Giggling, Norman hugged Gidget as he replied, "And you guys found me!"

"And then we returned home safe and sound. The end," Tiberius stated matter of factly, standing up. "Come on Dad, you like that story too," Norman purred, rubbing his head against his dad's leg. Nuzzling the young cub's cheek, the older griffin rumbled softly, "Yeah sure, it's a good story for a party or something. But mark my words, we ain't repeating that again anytime soon."

"Why not? We love adventuring!" Gidget and Norman exclaimed at the same time. Flicking his notched ear, Tiberius shook his head and muttered, "You two are gonna be the death of me one of these days. Now come on Norman, can't have you being late for school."

"Let's race!" Norman squealed happily. The cub took off running towards the schoolyard without another word. Realizing that the race had started without them, Gidget and Tiberius ran after the cub. Due to his head start, Norman won easily. Jumping up and down as his dad and friend finally arrived at the schoolyard, he cried out, "I win I win!"

"Touchdown!" Gidget howled, giving Norman a hug. At that moment, the teacher Leonard pranced into view. "Is everyone here?" the white deer asked, looking around at the young animals surrounding him. He was greeted by a chorus of cheers from the children. Smiling happily, the teacher announced, "Alrighty class! We'll be heading off on our field trip in a few minutes so hurry up and eat something. Get some water, take your bathroom breaks now. Let's go!"

"Ooh, a field trip! Where are we going?" Gidget yipped, wagging her tail in excitement. She loved field trips. Looking around, the small dog realized everyone was staring at her. Confused, she asked, "Did I forget something again?"