Melee (noun): a confused struggle

The young puppy stumbled forward and fell on its nose.

Rrrr…

Soft whimpers fluttered into the air like butterflies. Clambering up to its stubby legs with another round of determination, the pup set off again on its journey. The golden sunlight streaming through the windows dappled its blond fur with a peaceful warmth.

Through the squishy pillows it traveled, over the delicate carpet it crawled; the tiny dog’s floppy little ears bounced about joyfully with every step it took.

Ah! What’s that!

It saw the human that it had become familiar with over the past several weeks. The person looked alright, but there was something peculiar on the ends of his legs. What was the strange, pink mound of fluff towering before its eyes?

Attack!

Flinging its little body forward, the puppy fearlessly launched an offensive on the slipper to defend its human from its vicious plans. It would never hurt the human as long as the puppy stood guard!

Bonk.

Eh?! The small paws tripped over each other as the puppy retreated frantically. Why hadn’t its ferocious battle moves worked? Could it be that another monster was hiding inside the pink fluff?!

Ah, there was no time to waste!

Once again filled with chivalry and courage alike, the little dog charged forwards. As it knocked off the pink slipper to reveal the human’s feet, something seemed to rain down upon his soft, golden fur.

Little did the puppy know, the droplets landing on its back were the tears flowing out of the human’s eyes. The human’s previous dog had done the exact same thing with the pink slipper while it was still alive, and the new puppy had unknowingly followed in its very footsteps.