Chapter 40
Forty
Ayla
The Reapers' camp started moving when the sun came up. Considering none of us had gone to sleep until a few hours ago, I didn't know how they did it, but I did sit up. Mostly, that was because there was no way I was going to sleep through the noise around this strange "house" I was staying in.
But Zasen was already gone. Kanik was upstairs in the loft, and from the looks of his tail hanging over the edge, still asleep. I didn't see Rymar, and I wasn't sure if he'd even been back yet, but Holly was watching me intently.
"Okay," I whispered as I got up and began looking for clothes. "Let's get you something to eat, hm?"
She wagged her tail but didn't move, waiting until I was not only dressed, but headed for the door. Then she finally hopped up and raced me there, reaching it before I did. Quietly, I slipped out, doing my best to let Kanik sleep a little longer if he could.
He was healed, but not completely recovered.
The doctors had said he'd need time to rebuild the muscles that had been cut, and he'd probably get tired easier than normal.
Since I wasn't used to people surviving something as traumatic as what he'd been through, letting him sleep made me feel like I was doing my part to help him get better.
Outside, a trio of carts was slowly heading out of town. I spotted Omden's bright green skin in the last cart in the line. I also didn't really know what was going on. In Lorsa, the morning after an attack, there was always a town meeting, but here, they didn't even have a stage for that.
This camp was almost like a town, but less permanent. Everything could be moved around. The ground it was on had been packed down by generations of use, but there weren't any clear roadways or paths. It was more true to say everything was one.
Hoping to find someone I knew, I headed toward the trees so Holly could relieve herself. She ran off into the grassy area, so I turned to lean against a tree, trying to figure out what was going on. Sadly, I still didn't see Zasen or Rymar, but a dark dog ran toward me - and it was one I knew well.
"Hey, Shadow!" I said, kneeling down to greet him. "Where's Lansin?"
He woofed once, then rushed past me, heading the same way Holly had gone. I chuckled, knowing an urgent need when I saw one, and pushed myself back up, but when I turned toward the "town" again, the man in question was meandering his way closer.
"Morning, Ayla," he called out. "I'd say good, but it isn't."
"It is," I countered. "We're alive; the Moles are gone. That counts."
"Spoken like a true Dragon," he said as he reached my side. "So, I didn't get to ask before, but how's Holly working for you?"
"I love her so much," I told him. "I didn't even know what love was until I got her, and now I worry about her all the time! I also know this is what she loves, so I don't hold her back."
"Good," he said. "Some people try to baby their dogs, and that just makes them stressed in a different way. They'll become destructive, chewing things, and it's not good for anyone."
"That's what the books said too," I agreed. "Kanik got me some, and we read everything we could find about dogs."
"Not all of it applies," he warned. "Just use what feels right and ignore the rest. Dogs are like kids that way. Just because most do things one way doesn't mean yours will."
"But she knows the whistles, right?" I asked.
He gave me a confused look. "Yeah? We train all of the ones here for it. Keeps them from chasing the wrong thing, and just makes life easier. Why?"
"Can I learn?" I asked. "I don't know where you get the whistles either, but I'd like to be able to do that in combat. I always worry she'll run out when we need to stay hidden, or she'll come to me at the wrong time. This would help."
"I have plenty of whistles," he said. "I'll give you a few. You know, so the guys have one too. If you want, you can come back to my cabin, and I'll give you a list of the commands too."
I made a face. "I still have to feed her."
"I do have food for dogs," he pointed out.
Which made his offer sound even better. "Okay. I just don't know what I'm supposed to be doing, Lansin. Rymar and Zasen are gone, which usually means busy. This isn't like Lorsa, so I feel like I'm being lazy."
"You're not," he assured me. "The seriously wounded were just sent to Lorsa with Irrik. He wants to meet his son. Some of your militia went that way too, along with that guy you saved."
"Sylis?"
"Yes, him," he said. "Zasen is likely talking to the medics, making arrangements for how to handle things now that your doctors headed back. Rymar was up with Eriska all night. I don't know about Kanik."
"He's still sleeping," I told him. "He's supposed to be on light duty after his injury, but he refused to stay home."
"Can't say that I blame him," Lansin said as Holly and Shadow trotted out of the trees, headed straight for us. "I also heard it was bad - and that you saved him." Then he gestured to the side, showing me where we were going next.
"Actually," I admitted, "Holly did. She tracked his scent and found him hidden in the forest. She also dragged him back."
"Way I heard it, you did a lot of that dragging too, along with some healing, and a whole lot of not giving up."
"Yeah," I mumbled. "I didn't want to lose him."
He reached over and rubbed my shoulder. "I know."
Then we reached a cabin different from the one I was staying in. Not the house part, but everything around it. There were smaller structures built with short walls around them. Inside those walls were dogs. Lots of dogs, and quite a few of them were small.
"Welcome to my kennels," he said, gesturing to it all. "This is where Holly was born."
"Are those puppies?" I asked.
He pointed at one of the tiny house-looking things. "Go in that one. The mother is named Star, and she has brand-new puppies. They're four days old now, still have their eyes closed, and aren't even walking. Yes, you can pick them up. I'll get food for everyone."
I headed over, looking at the gate that would let me in, and made sure it was closed behind me. I'd never seen a puppy before, but the moment the mother dog saw me, she came out of the dog-sized house and hurried over for some attention.
"Hi, Star," I said, crouching down so she could sniff me all over. "You're a pretty dog, aren't you?"
Her coat was white and red, covered in big spots of both. While her shape was a lot like Holly's, she was actually a smaller animal, but wider across the shoulders. She also loved the attention. But inside her little house, something was squeaking in the most adorable way.
"Can I see?" I asked, heading over.
Her tail wagged as she slipped in, then came back out.
So, deciding to be brave, I knelt down and looked.
There, sprawled on an old blanket, were a bunch of the smallest dogs I'd ever seen.
Like human children, their bodies weren't in the right proportions yet, and as much as I loved Holly, these might actually be cuter.
So I picked up the closest. It was spotted like the mother, but black and white instead of red and white. The little thing had a fat belly and grunted like it had eaten too much. And when I cuddled it close, the puppy tried to suck on the end of my finger.
"Are you hungry?" I asked, putting the puppy back where I'd found it.
But another caught my eye. In all the dogs I'd seen so far, none had been this color! To reach it, I had to stretch a bit, but I managed. And when I pulled it out, I could tell this one must be a boy. Its parts were not in the same place as Holly's.
His hair was a soft greyish-blue color, with big black spots spread across it.
The little dog looked like someone had spilled ink across his back, and he was so fat!
I couldn't help but cuddle him, and unlike the first, this one just tried to get closer, wanting to snuggle the same way Holly always did.
"Oh, I see you found the blue merle," Lasin said as he stepped into the pen with me.
"I don't know what that means," I admitted.
"That's what his color is called," he said. "And he's going to be a chunk."
"Is this Holly's brother?"
"Nope." Lansin chuckled. "I bred this litter to get a few more females to breed to Shadow. I'll be selling and training the boys - and probably some of the girls. So, if you decide you need another dog..."
"I can't afford one," I told him.
"I know," he said.
"But I like this one," I admitted, kissing the top of his head. "He cuddles the right way."
"Yeah, he does," Lansin agreed before holding out a cluster of those tube whistles. "And these are for you. I have dozens of them, so make sure your boys all get one, okay?"
"And the commands?"
He waited until I took the whistles, since I only had one free hand, then passed me a paper next. "That's paired with all her verbal commands. It should be easy for you to figure out."
"And I guess I'll have to make up my own for her new commands?"
His head twitched. "You taught her new commands?"
"Yeah, like 'disarm.'"
"What's that one?"
So I explained to him how we'd accidentally realized her exuberance to fetch could be used to take the guns from the Moles. His expression went from curiosity to real interest the longer I talked, until he was nodding with my points.
"Okay, that is something we all need to learn," he said. "I'm going to bet there'll be a meeting later, and if you're willing, I'd like to tell the other dog handlers about it?"
"Sure," I agreed. "It's really easy to teach, and Xav's dog already knows how."
"Perfect," he said, pushing to his feet. "Now, are you going to cuddle that little guy all day, or do you want to see older puppies?"
I looked down at the blue merle dog and had to actually think about it. "Older puppies," I decided, "but maybe I can see this one again?"
"Any time you want," he promised, offering me a hand up. "He needs a name too. You want to give him one?"
"Storm," I said on impulse. "He looks like the clouds when weather comes in, and I have a feeling he'll hit as hard as the wind once he's grown."
"Yeah, he will," Lansin agreed. "Hi, Storm. That's a good name for you, isn't it?"
"You're going to use it?" I asked, hugging the puppy one last time before putting him away.
"Mhm," he said. "Ayla, I have named so many dogs by now that I blank for a good name. But yeah, I think Storm fits him perfectly. However, right now I want to see how hard you laugh when an entire litter of puppies decides you've just become their favorite toy."
"Me too," I decided, pushing to my feet. "And Lansin? Thank you. All of this is amazing."
"Who knows," he said, "one day, maybe you'll have just as many dogs of your own. You'd be good at it, Ayla. I have a feeling you already are. I think giving you Holly may have been one of the best decisions I ever made."
"And the best gift I've ever been given." I reached up to touch the gold around my neck. "Just slightly better than this."
"Which says a lot more than you know," he told me.
But I meant the torc, not the relationship.
Because comparing those? I couldn't pick which I liked more.
The truth was I liked having it all. I was scared I'd end up losing someone - a man or my dog - although I didn't want to think about that.
I just wanted to have one moment of joy, and as we neared a pen with older, wigglier puppies in it, I allowed myself to stop worrying about where I should be.
These were puppies. I deserved to pet all of them.