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Hello readers! I, the Whimsical Writer, have written for you two stories. And you, yes you, get to choose which is your favorite! put your vote in the comments below.

First up;

Shimmer

“Mindy, we have a situation!” Cody bellowed from the door. 

“What’s wrong?” Mindy asked, closing her book. “Runaway unicorn?”

“Just let me…catch my breath,” he gasped, leaning against the wall. “Why… did you have… to be on… the fourth floor!?” 

“You could have called me,” she shrugged, jumping off her bed.

“It wasn’t going to be an over-the-phone conversation,” Cody said, as they started down the hall.

“Oh?”

“Let me start from the beginning; You know I and some others went on an expedition in the black woods to look for trapped creatures?” he asked.

“Yes,” Mindy replied, dashing down the first flight of stairs. This place needs an elevator. she thought.

“We found some, er, creatures trapped in the B-Black King's traps.” Cody faltered.

Mindy frowned. Cody only did that when he was nervous.

“Well? What were they?” she asked.

“Dragons.”

“Dragons!? That’s great! We haven’t seen dragons in years! Let alone rescue!” Mindy exclaimed. “How many are down there?”

“One.”

“Wait, what?” she asked, stopping on the second landing. “But you said "Dragons " not "Dragon ",”

Cody didn’t answer. He looked serious. 

“Cody?”

“Mindy, there were five. But we were too late. The traps…” Cody swallowed hard. “There was nothing we could do. I’m so sorry.”

“You don’t mean…” Mindy asked softly.

Cody nodded solemnly.

“The poor dragons,” she sighed. When Mindy founded the Creature Keepers she had witnessed many sad partings organized by that awful black king. He put traps everywhere intending to wipe out every mythical creature in the forest. It was up to her to fight back! But it seemed like with every creature she saved he trapped two more.

“We’re here,” Cody said as they reached the doors to the first floor.

“Cody, You never told me what the situation was,” Mindy said.

  “You’ll see,” he said, pushing the doors open.

Mindy’s eyes grew as big as saucers. “Situation” was an understatement. A dragon, small for his species, was standing in the middle of the room thrashing at the ropes that bound him. His claws scraped against the floor like a knife on a plate. When a team member would try to go near him, his scales would flash an angry red with sparks of orange, and snarling, he would chase them back to the edge of the room. 

"A shimmer dragon," Mindy breathed. Shimmer dragons were a rare species of dragon, that when they felt an emotion would change a certain color. kind of like a chameleon, only instead of blending in, they practically glow. Red usually meant anger, and she wasn’t surprised. She thought it was perfectly normal to be angry when someone ties you up. and she had seen resentment in lots of rescued creatures before they knew she and the team meant well. They just needed to show him he could trust them! 

With a deep breath, Mindy approached the dragon. He immediately ran up to her, nostrils flaring. Mindy was scared of course. It had been a long time since she last handled a dragon, but she kept calm. The dragon looked surprised that she hadn't run away. So he raised his claw to strike her, but something made him stop. He lowered his claw and took a step back. Mindy took a step. The dragon’s scales turned from red to purple-violet.

Fear. Mindy thought. That’s a bit better than anger.

“Hey big guy,” her voice barely above a whisper. “I know you're scared, but it’s alright. You're safe.”

The dragon lowered his head to eye level with Mindy.

“Untie the ropes,” she commanded without taking her eyes off the dragon.

“But-” one member complained.

“You can’t expect him to ever calm down unless you give him the freedom to do so,” Mindy said.

The team loosened the knots.

“You can trust me. Can I trust you?” she asked softly. She held out her hands.

The dragon hesitated, then gently rested his chin in Mindy’s palms. A beautiful teal washed over the surface of the dragon’s slender body. Mindy smiled. 

Calm.

The team cheered. 

“You need a name,” Mindy exclaimed. “What do you think of Clyde?”

The dragon stared at her blankly.

“Okay, Bryan?”

He perked up slightly.

“Closer, Oh! What about Ryan?”

The dragon leaped in the air and ran around Mindy happily.

“Okay! Ryan it is!” she said, laughing. Ryan’s scales shimmered a bright yellow.

Joy. 

Alright! Hope you liked that, now for the next one;

Paw and Order

The door to the office swung open. I lifted my head from my paws to see who the intruder was. 

Only Jake. I thought, stretching. I rolled over onto my back, pretending not to notice.

“Officer Jake! What brings you here?” Frank asked, getting up to greet him.

“Just thought I’d say hi to my old partner,” he said, crouching down to scratch behind my ears. I thumped my tail on the edge of my bed.

“And…to grab a snack,” he added under his breath as he snatched a chocolate glazed out of the doughnut box on the desk.

“Scout has been doing very well since… the accident.” Frank fumbled.

I winced, refusing to remember that horrible day.

“Speaking of Scout, do you think he’s ready to join me back as my partner? I miss having a dog by my side,” Jake asked.

Oh, Jake, I thought. When will you learn? Those days of high-speed chases and busting down doors together are over. I’m just a retired police dog.

“Funny you should ask that, Jake. I happen to have some news from one of the OPOTA trainers,” Frank said. “A new dog is coming and he has great potential but is distracted easily. She wants some other police dog to mentor him. Someone well-rounded and experienced, like Scout!”

Did he just call me old and fat? I wondered. 

“So are you saying, you want to give my partner a partner?” Jake asked eagerly.

“Yes! But just for the summer. I think it will do Scout some good too.” Frank added.

“And just in time! I’ve tried so many ways to make him comfortable on the fourth, but maybe having another dog will help.” Jake said.

I sighed. You see, after my last assignment, I had only one fear; guns.

 From the sight of them to the sound I about panicked every time. And the fourth of July was no party for me as you can imagine. And a new partner? They can’t possibly think I'd be happy. You can’t replace a dog who gave their life to save you.

“What’s his name?” Jake asked.

“Zeb,” Frank replied.

“Hey Scout,” Jake said, crouching down again. “Want to go meet your new partner?”

No, not really, I thought. But Jake was already strapping my leash to my harness.

“Thanks, Frank!” Jake called as we walked out the door. Jake led me to the front of the building where his car was parked. We hopped in and he started the engine.

“This is great, isn’t Scout?” Jake asked, pulling out of the parking lot.

I stared glumly out the window.

“Oh, come on. I know this isn’t your favorite, but you can’t live the rest of your life cooped up in the corner of Frank’s office.” Jake said.

Says who.

“You might even make a new friend!” he exclaimed. “And here we are!” Jake pulled into the OPOTA parking lot.

Jake opened his door and walked around to my side. He opened my door and we made our way into the building.

“Are you Jake Freedline?” the lady behind the front desk asked.

“Yes, I am,” Jake replied.

“Then you must be ,” she exclaimed, bending over to scratch my chin. I pulled away.

I don’t like you. Too smiley. I thought.

She led us to the back where an obstacle course was set up and a few dogs were running it.

The lady called over a trainer and his dog.

“This is Zeb, your new partner!” she said, taking hold of the dog’s leash. 

He was a brown and black German Shepherd like me, only a bit smaller. He approached me.

Hi. I’m Zeb. He said.

Hello. I’m not happy to be here. I said.

So I guess I’m your new partner. Zeb said uncertainly. It sounded more like a question.

Will see about that. I said. Can you run the course? 

That’s easy. Zeb woofed at his trainer who then unleashed him.

Zeb ran to the start of the course. He looked at me expectantly. I nodded.

He started the course with the tunnel then zig-zagged around the poles, he sprung through the hoops and stopped at the see-saw. He lifted his nose in the air and then started to trot off towards whatever he had smelled. But soon remembered he was in the middle of the course and stepped onto the see-saw. He took a few shaky steps but when it started to tip he jumped off and ran to the finish.

How was that? He asked, panting.

Too much energy, lack of focus, and you failed to finish the last obstacle. I answered. 

Zeb’s face flushed red, and it wasn’t just from running around. I did my best. He argued.

Well, your best needs to get better. I said. Simply. I felt a twinge of guilt for being so hard on the new guy, but I wasn't all too happy with my circumstance anyway.

“Well Scout, what do you think?” Jake asked, leashing up Zeb again.

I think it’s going to be a long summer. I moaned