The tale of Jack defending Luna was quickly spread around the common room of the Potted Pickle with Micheal included with Luna's insistence that he fought with the same desperate fury as the Bear Dog. The guards had talked when they came back, and everyone in town knew and were asking about him by the time they all got back to the Inn. Luna walked the whole way back beside the proud lightly wounded Bear Dog with her hands curled up in his fur as they walked him inside the common room.
He was sat down on a canvas tarp set over a few folded blankets. His wounds were tended by Vivian and Micheal, his fur cleaned as much as his wounds to make sure the rusty improvised weapons left behind no festering wounds. He had even been fed a hardy meal from the kitchen that spared no expense while the party and the patrons put together an impromptu celebration.
The people were worried about the goblins, but word was spread and the guard put on alert. A curfew would be put over the town and a call to the larger city sent in the morning for more knights to patrol the roads, and for guards from the bigger cities and towns would be sent out to stay in villages around the area to either guard or gather people back to safer locations until the areas around them had been scouted for signs of the orc camp that had sent out the foraging party.
Rodust like many towns had high fences, almost a wooden palisade, but those like the wooden buildings could be easily burned down during a raid. The best thing was to put on a strong front to keep the goblins from thinking the raid would be easy. The next step Micheal learned as he talked with the party was that they would report to the guild offices in Mayonn about what they found much as they had said before. What was clarified was that the guard came in merely to watch the villages under threat and keep the people safe. It was overall accepted that adventurers would go out and take on the danger when such could be arranged. That would have been met with some resistance if it was not for the payout once problems such as an orc camp were taken care of. In fact the money Vivian had with her was just half the pay she earned in the raid on the camp where Micheal was saved, but she had received more as one of her guilds Captains in the guild doing the job. Luna and Dexter wouldn't have gotten nearly so much as she had were they in the area for the raid then.
Dexter and Vivian bought a round of drinks for everyone in the Inn, and the brief celebration went on through the night. People came and left as it went on or they returned from work or from outer settlements as they were called in by the guards. Mrs. Arlee set the short range refugees up in rooms, or freely gave them space to bed down in the hayloft, or the stables. The people hardly seemed put off by the suggestion, in fact seemingly relieved at just the fact of being safe. A little gentle questioning of the innkeeper told Micheal that most of the people who stayed in the free accommodations outside were farmers and farm hands from across the area with not much coin to their names; Yet were still an important part of the community and were welcomed by families in Rodust as often as they came to her Inn or stables for shelter. Still there was no shortage of boys and strong farmers daughters that carried in bows and spears, often holding those weapons of their parents with them as they came in to get a meal or find shelter for a few nights away from their farms.
Some of the people jumped when they came in and saw Jack snoozing on his makeshift mattress, but the story was told time and time again, each time a patron went about telling the tale the story grew more and more enthused and exaggerated just how many goblins the recently tamed Bear Dog took down. There was a lot of talk of Micheal, the man who tamed the beast, and much speculation as to what Micheal could do with such a beast when it was full grown. Many farmers who came in agreed that Jack was no more than a year old at best, and had a lot more growing to do before he was done. They laughed and teased Micheal for the drag the beast would be on his coin purse, but then they did offer to feed not only Jack, but the whole party the next time they came through making sure to tell Micheal in detail just where their farms were in the usual local parlance that had no care for maps or proper road names.
It quickly became quite clear that everyone was happy the adventurers had gone out of their way to find the encroaching orcs and goblins before they had a chance to raid a farm as much or more so to know that the problem Bear Dog was taken care of. More rounds of ale were bought, and shared about everyone at the Inn. They way they told it made Micheal out to be a hero, but he didn't want to think and hardly was able to outside of responding politely as he could manage to questions and comments about Jack.
Micheal felt himself slowly fading throughout the night. By his second mug of warm, slightly too sweet ale he was beginning to doze. The potions fatiguing effects had faded completely by the time they got the guards, and he was emotionally worn worried about finding Vivian in a state he could not tolerate to imagine. At least before she came back without so much as a scratch on her. A bit of dancing and singing from Luna got him up and awake and he stumbled through something of a square dance with Vivian with her laughing all the way as she tried to decide if he had two right feet or two left. By the time he was sitting back down and working on his third mug Vivian was asking after the baths once more and she dragged him off into the back sections of the Inn to wash down before they retired to their rooms. No matter how tired he actually was he didn't think he'd ever get tired of the sweet intimacy of bathing with Vivian. She was sweet, gentle, and playful every time. He even got the hang of how to wash and brush out her hair without pulling knots out with the roots, and he loved the way she melted back against him as he worked the shampoo powders into a lather and ran it through her auburn hair. Seeing and touching her there eased away the lingering haze in his mind. Being clean again reminded him he wasn't in the camp. He felt numb after all the same as a different fatigue settled in than before, or maybe just more of the same. He couldn't be sure. His hands and arms were too weak, and his legs shaky.
He tried not to doze as she shaved him yet again; he was too tired to focus on doing it himself and he vaguely remembered coming up the back stairs with her after handing their clothes off to the laundry maid. Next thing he knew Vivian was brushing her hair sitting at the head of the bed with her back up against the headboard with his head on her lap. His body felt fine enough now he wasn't trying to sit up or stand, but his eyes dragged down every time he opened them.
Vivian smile down at him and brushed his hair from his eyes. He hadn't really noticed how long it had gotten until Vivian and the others in Rosebridge had managed to clean it after his time in the camp.
“We'll have to cut your hair properly soon.” She mused smiling down at him.
She wore her light linen dress and nothing else. The cool evening air rushing in the windows made the slight warmth of her thighs pleasant against the back of his head. Her thumb ran over his eyebrows and he very nearly fell away into sleep at the gesture. He vaguely remembered his mother doing that to him as a child and Vivian seemed to have grinned when she noticed.
“Go to sleep.” She urged gently. “I doubt you will wake when I go to lay down. I took you from the table because otherwise you would have fallen asleep right there, and there would be no getting you upstairs.” She laughed softly, something of a delighted chuckle from deep in her chest, the light of memory showing in her eyes.
“That's why you were on the first floor in Rosebridge actually.” She told him with her fondness showing clear in her lovely voice. “We couldn't fit all the people we needed to carry you into the stairway even with a litter. An adventurer got moved upstairs in stead.” She laughed again softly this time.
“Aren't you just as tired?” He asked.
She hung her head down over the top his and smiled as her hair spilled around her face like a lovely honey amber veil. She blinked slowly at him and looked into his eyes for as long as he could keep them open.
“I'm not tired at all. You just rest.”
He found her hand near his neck and she laced her fingers into his. Her smile shown a little less bright as she turned his hand over and looked over the mark there still leaning over him and shading him from the lantern light with her hanging hair. The smell of her and the soap she liked to use filled his nostrils and seemed to fill some hole in his chest. Every time he spent a good deal of time close with her was like that. It was like a balm to his heart and mind.
Her face showed little as she looked over the marks on his hand.
“First aid and polearms now.” She said switching her gaze back to him. “Both still white, but if you gain them like your fishing skill they will quickly show back to the level you would have had in your world before.” She explained in a casual tone while stroking the sides of his face with her free hand. Each touch was like another wave in the deep current of sleep trying to take him under.
“I love you.” He said without a thought to the import of the words.
He was slipping in and out of consciousness he was so tired. He struggled in those last moments trying to figure out what had drained him so. It didn't seem to make all that much sense that he was as tired as he was. He tried to pull himself up seeing the light in Vivian's eyes shine with surprise, but it made his head ache and her face show with compassion.
She shushed him and kissed his forehead, the action as good as belting his head down the pillow for effectiveness. Then she pressed and gently rubbed her nose against his before pulling back. The last thing he saw before fading completely was her reaching over to close the shutters on the lantern next to the bed.
Within half an hour or so after midnight Luna quietly lifted the latch on her door wearing her sleeping clothes, fine breathable silk trousers and loose a button up shirt, with a pillow in hand as she peaked out into the hallway. The last of the patrons staying in the Inn had already retired and the stairs down to the common room were dark. She had excellent night vision, a gift of her race, and made her way easily down the dark hall and to those stairs. She hadn't been able to sleep. Each time she closed her eyes her mind was filled with images of those horrid goblins chasing after her. She had been back line support in a raid once before and that experience alone was enough for her to be glad to have missed the last raid even if it meant being along side her mentor Vivian once more.
The image of herself being turned into a hollow eyed husk of a woman like those women saved from the camps played over and over in her mind with how close she had come. She would rather have bitten her own tongue out than have those cruel, evil creatures have their way with her, but still a part of her reeled away from even the thought of that. Survival was the key wasn't it? But if she had to carry those scars... She shook herself and clung tight to the pillow in her arms as she crept down the stairs and into the empty common room.
There was a light in the kitchen, and that alone was far more than enough for her to make out Jack raising his head as she came down. He was sleepy and looking a little sore and stiff after Micheal and Vivian had worked together to clean his wounds. Even now he was still covered in bandages and smelling of poultices, but his stubby furry fan of a tail started up the moment he saw her. For a moment again she saw the beast she had seen breaking in the walls of her home as a young child, but then again she saw again Jack at her side. She remembered the weight of him putting himself between her and the attacking goblins. In the depths of her mind she heard him growling and roaring ferociously along with the sounds of him batting away attacking goblins and intercepting dozens of blows for her that would have likely felled her with one. She had to force herself down the last step, but then each step was easier as she watched Jack's tail wind up to shy of full tilt.
She came to his side and knelt down to sit against him. He leaned up against her and she put her full weight into him feeling the slight wiggle of his tail as his body moved with it. He curled around to look at her and lick at her hands. She leaned in and hugged the Bear Dog as best she could. He was big even being a puppy like that farmer said, but he was more than enough for her to bury her face into. She began crying as he put his big head into her lap, and she put her arms around his neck before she began to let out soft uncontrollable sobs. Jack leaned into her and wiggled his tail, and he bumped her chin and licked her face as she let out what was left of the terror she had experienced that day.
She took up the pillow and scooted around to the front of Jack to sit right between his paws with his head on her lap. He gratefully laid his head down not longer needing to twist and strain his bound wounds with his dark eyes watching her as she wrapped her arms around him and leaned into his shoulders. She sat there for an hour or more with Jack wiggling his tail as she took comfort in the creatures presence sniffling as she did. She had never been that close to death or worse before. Had they killed her in their riled up state, or dragged her back to their camp part of her would have died either way and knowing that only made it so much worse.
Amazingly one of her worst fears had become suddenly her greatest source of comfort. Dogs were monsters and always had been. She liked Hillsland Shepard's, but Mastiffs scared her. Micheal had said tonight and she thought earlier too that Dogs were all the same sort of creature in his world, or wherever it was he came from. She still wasn't sure about what was going on with that, but Vivian seemed to understand it so it was probably okay. Whatever that was about she suddenly understood what Micheal had been talking about somewhat drunkenly at the table tonight.
A Dog was a man's best friend?
The farmers had laughed. Micheal persisted and told a story like he had read it from some history. His people had no magic and had used dogs to aid them like they were tame creatures like horses or other nice herbivores. It was easy to keep monsters if they just ate plants. How did you keep something that hunted? But then she had seen Micheal fighting with Jack at his side; The bear dogs agility, huge body, and power aiding Micheal so naturally in the fight; Micheal reaching over the top of Jack with his staff to strike or open up a foe so the Bear Dog could close in and strike for the neck; or Jack turning a foes attention away so Micheal could land a series of solid blows like they were part of the same pack.
Whatever other Bear Dogs were like through whatever magic Micheal had manifested Jack now thought of her too as part of his pack, or maybe Micheal's and Vivian's, but all the same she was grateful. She could feel just how happy Jack was sleepily laying on her lap now, his tail still swaying gently. She dug into his warm fur with her fingers and pressed her face in close to the thick fur around his neck. As part of his first aid he had been cleaned, and now his fur was so soft and warm. She cuddled into him feeling the anxiety and terror fade until she felt she might fall asleep right there. It just wasn't proper to be seen by others in her sleeping clothes so she did pull away and go back to bed, but she had likely stayed and cuddled Jack for more than an hour before returning to her room.
As she came up the final stairs she was startled to see Dexter leaning up against the wall in front of her door. He wore nothing but his shirtsleeves and a clean pair of short linen trousers cut off at the knee. His scales shown on the tops of his arms, the back of his hands, and on his bare feet where other men might have displayed body hair. His eyes seemed to shine with the little moonlight that spilled into the hall from the windows.
She pulled the pillow into her chest and tried to keep herself calm, but everything from his height, the rough definition of muscle, to his cool penetrating eyes seemed to throw that off. It was hardly proper for him to see her like this. The night air was suddenly too cool against her hot cheeks and seemed to climb up her legs and brought attention to the lack of anything underneath her loose sleeping trousers.
“You doing okay Luna?” He asked in a soft voice.
“I'm fine now.” She answered doing her best to keep her voice from showing her recent emotion, but failing somewhat as the words cracked. “I was just making sure Jack was settled.”
He gave a soft grunt of affirmation. “So that wasn't crying I heard?” He asked gently though there was some small amount of mockery to his voice.
Luna felt her ears snap up though she did her best to keep her face straight even as Dexter took in her ears and nodded to himself. She stepped forward ready to berate him a little, but the movement only seemed to let more slightly cool night air run up her silk pant legs and she stopped dead in the hall with her eyes locked on Dexters'.
He stepped forward too though and before she could react he had her and her pillow pressed up against him in a hug. He leaned down and pressed a very light kiss onto her forehead just in front of her ears. The sensation of him pressing her ears aside was nearly enough to make her stand on her toes, but she managed to control her desire to squirm away or yelp right up until the kiss landed on her hair. Then it all melted away and she felt her ears droop and wilt even as they seemed to give off the same heat spreading over her face.
She often had the same problem as Vivian in that she liked men taller than her, she was tall for a Bunnary, in fact most of her family was, but Dexter was only average for a nomad and almost a head taller than her. It was just another thing she liked about him. That and his arms. His arms were like thick, warm, and solid tree branches around her shoulders.
“It's okay to be afraid sometimes.” He whispered. “It's okay to be unsettled sometimes.” He went on soothingly and in an all too soft voice for him.
He squeezed her gently and laid his cheek against the top of her head as she drew in on herself. Luna almost let out a whine as her ears wilted pathetically and filled with heat again all at once, but all she could do was squeeze the pillow in her arms against her chest. His arms were so firm! His chest appeared to be ridged with the iron hard scales he normally hid from sight, and where there wasn't scale there was solid muscle. In fact the back of her arms were against his abs and it was almost enough for her to think her ears might start steaming!
He held her tight for a moment longer then whispered to her once more.
“I am sorry I wasn't there for you today, but I'm glad you're alright. I don't know what I would have done if you had been hurt.”
Her ears twitched limply as she heard the words. He hardly sounded like himself. He was usually all confidence and maybe leaning a bit into arrogant, but that had always charmed her more than it annoyed her. At least he always had the skills to back up his claims. The way he talked now he almost sounded vulnerable. She tried to think of something to say, but just as fast as the moment seemed to have come he whispered a quiet goodnight to her and went back to his room.
She stared at his door with the pillow in her arms for a good while before she was able to shake herself and return to her own room. Her heart pounded in her ears as she lay back in bed under the light breathy summer sheets. Her ears felt like hot water bottles hanging down the sides of her head. She let out a whine into her pillow as she rolled over and over until she eventually found a comfortable position and then somehow found sleep a little time after.
Micheal awoke for the first time in days without Vivian at his side. Luckily however, what woke him was the click of the latch going shut as she returned with a cloth covered platter in both hands. Seeing her right away settled the strange sense of panic that rose in him upon waking alone. She was fully dressed in her fit leather pants, or breeches, or whatever they called them here, and light flowing blouse shirt with the open sleeves that she often belted over with her light leather curiass and over her long gloves. The front was open showing a peak of cleavage though he had seen her wear a tunic of sorts over the top of that which made the outfit quite modest. Right now in her slightly heeled thigh high boots laced up from ankle to where they turned down atop her knees she was quite the pleasant sight as she bent to put their breakfast on the rooms table.
It was almost enough for him to pull himself out of the daze he was still in. That or he had had more ale than he thought last night. He did not have much of a stomach for alcohol, but he had also drunk plenty of water too. The thought of that of course brought the call of nature to the front of his mind.
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Vivian watched him with her hands just about to pull off the cloth cover of the breakfast, her face twisted up as she did, and then she eyed him and the chamber pot he had just used.
“Unlike the last time I brought you breakfast I'm not taking that out.” She said flatly.
Micheal nodded, cleaned himself up, and got dressed enough so as not to seem odd as he took out the brass chamber pot and dumped it outside in the local latrine with the used wash water. He stopped in the kitchen to wash his hands and say a good morning to Mr. Arlee, the cook. The makeshift mattress of a tarp and several blankets was empty, and Jack no where in sight. That worried him, but when he asked Mr. Arlee he told Micheal that 'the cute bunny girl' said she was taking him to the market for a treat.
Micheal worried that Luna might struggle handling Jack, and he was half certain she had been terrified of him the day before the little incident with the goblins, but he shrugged that off for the moment and went upstairs again to get properly dress. It would look bad on Vivian for him to go about town barefoot and wild eyed first thing after waking up.
“Luna took Jack out?” He asked as he got back into the room.
Vivian nodded as she put a forkful of eggs in her mouth and gestured for him to sit across from her to eat. He put down the chamber pot and sighed as he came to join her. She watched him cool eyed for a time as they ate until he brought it up.
“Luna said Jack doesn't need another set of bandages.” Vivian said instead of directly answering his question. She pushed more food in his direction though he still struggled to eat very much after his time in the camp eating so little.
Micheal looked up at her a little confused.
“What do you mean?” He asked around a bite of sausage. “Some of those cuts were deep and could easily get infected even if they weren't bleeding very badly. I really hope those poultices are as good as you say. If he wasn't as tame as he is from this mark or whatever I think he would have thought we were trying to hurt him more than help.”
“That's what I'm saying.” Vivian explained using a forkful of hash browns to emphasize her point. “He's fine. Totally. Jack is just like new.”
Micheal blinked and shook his head around his next bite and thought over just what she meant while he chewed. It was clear enough that he had slept in, and they had be going to get to Mayonn before dark, but as he looked Vivian over as she too continued eating he found that she was serious.
He glanced at the mark on his left hand that apparently represented whatever bond he had with Jack. It was still a shiny copper unlike the mark above it that shown with shifting rainbow colors just like its matching partner on Vivian's back. She raised her eyebrows in a meaningful gesture as she chewed and pointed at it the marks with her empty fork before she was able to speak.
“You ran out of mana last night. That's why you crashed. It's also why Jack healed so fast. You can heal through those marks.” She said with some food still in her cheek.
It made Micheal smile seeing her work around her food that way, but she had mentioned once before that adventurers often don't have time for proper manners. So whenever they ate alone or away from people she always ate fast without regard for any but basic manners.
Vivian caught his smile and the fork twirled in her fingers to come to point straight at his eye as she swallowed. A serious light shown in her eyes too. Micheal nearly leaned back out of the chair at the sudden movement, but she softened slightly seeming satisfied at how he started though a sharpness remained in her eyes.
“Just don't ever claim to have tamed me though. We don't know what your marks do, but you're in for a hide stripping either way if I find out you've messed with my head.” She said coldly.
Micheal raised his hands in innocent defense of himself surprised by the turn of her mood, but she flashed back to sweet regular Vivian in the next eye blink as she set her fork down and sighed. She then pushed the platter full onto Micheal's side of the table and instructed him to eat. She put her elbows up on the table and rested her chin on her hands as she watched him slowly get back to eating.
Her expression softened as he ate in silence with her watching. He was thinking furiously of what to say, but didn't want to dig himself deeper. This seemed like one of those times he should just remain quiet and do exactly what she expected. Even when he felt he was going to burst he continued eating after her eyes scanned his side of the breakfast spread and what he hadn't ate. He struggled and watched as she went from cold and rigid slowly to soft and contemplative. Her ears even drooped slightly. Her eyes caught the light of the morning as the last cool breaths of air came through the windows before the heat would begin settling in for another hot day. She sighed looking into his eyes and she tilted her head to look away and out the window the stables as he washed down about all the rest he could manage with the glass of warm cider. She looked so beautiful as morning light brought out the light freckles on her face and shown on the scar on her cheek. Her hair was like amber fire, glowing with the light of sun as if it could somehow soak it in and shine on in the dark. Put shortly she enchanted him just by the way she sighed and moved her lips.
He nearly choked as he made out the words on her silent lips as she looked into the stable yard of the Potted Pickle. Her lovely emerald eyes filled with alertness as he coughed and covered his mouth from sputtering with the clean rag napkin.
“Well don't choke.” She said getting up and roughly slapping his back until he cleared whatever went down the wrong tube. She sighed and shook her head as she took the napkin from his hands and cleaned his face.
He returned the sigh and said; “Thanks mom.” As she wiped and cleaned his face.
She shook her head at his clearly sarcastic comment. “You don't complain when I shave you in the bath.” She said dryly. “Come on now we should get going. Dexter should have our supplies we need for the trip and everyone else is ready to go. We let you sleep after figuring out what was going on with Jack.” She said going to his pack and getting out fresh stocking to go with the neat stack of clothes on the stand near the door.
Vivian in short order had him dressed though he still felt a little off balance. He kept thinking about the words she had mouthed out the window. It could always be the old 'olive juice' trick, but there was almost no mistaking it here. Would she really have wanted to say that already? In truth he did feel some sort of love for her already, but it was much too early to commit to it wasn't it? It was always hard for him to tell with women because his own family was usually so open with it. Saying 'I love you' over the phone or at a goodbye was standard practice with his father or siblings, but he knew it was a whole thing all together different to say it to someone else. Though he had. There was no shame in saying you loved a friend at least for him. But that too wasn't what he felt for Vivian or at least he couldn't be certain yet. They had skirted the issue, but he supposed time would tell what they would make of it. He thought about that as he got dressed and ready and then finally when he was outside the Inn with the heat of the day rising and quarterstaff in hand.
In the small battle with the goblins all the rage he had once had inside for them had come out. His few short lessons with Vivian had made him just familiar enough for his body to take hold and strike out at the foe with Jack's strength flowing through him. It wasn't until he had landed the first few blows with Jack at his side that he had really come into stride with it, but before that it almost seemed a haze of red. He remembered roaring like some kind of berserker coming in after the goblins that went after Luna and he remembered the shock of strikes and the crunch of bone through the thick staff as he landed blow after blow on the child sized goblins. He had wiped the staff clean before taking it inside, but all manner of blood, bone, and bits of goblin brain had still been on it in spite of his best efforts to clean it with dirt and leafs. Fighting the orc had been a shock too. His back ached in memory of being slammed into the tree. That had really rung his bell now that he thought about it, but at least he hadn't taken any wounds from that axe. It's cruel edge didn't seem like it would have left very neat or precise wounds. Just thinking about it sent a shiver down his spine.
He took the staff in both hands feeling its weight and smooth sanded surface. The places he held most were gaining a slight stain already from the oil and sweat of his hands. It struck him only then that last night had been the first time he had struck back at those who had so long held him captive, starved, beat, and worked him to exhaustion. The words of the orc shaman suddenly came back to him.
“You will learn human. Your spirit will break and reforge, break and reforge, time and time again like the blades of orc, like the hordes itself until only the strongest core remains.”
His hands creaked on the staff with their rock hard grip as he was flooded with memories of beatings after beatings. Of being forcefully fed when he could no longer move, and watered by goblins under the orders of the shaman. He shivered and shook with cold rage as he remembered the feeling of the orc shaman's crude magic wash over him, restoring him as much as it invaded with creeping tendril sensations into the deepest parts of his being. Again and again. His body pushed to breaking and then made whole again. Worn down and made whole again and again. His body shook and his heart was pounding. He hardly noticed as Jack happily spotted him as he, Luna, and Dexter came into the stable yard.
Vivian put a hand over his and was suddenly in the center of his vision. She looked into his eyes and suddenly her words came to him. She worriedly wiped sweat from his brow and lifted one of his eyelids.
“Micheal are you alright?” She was asking. She had been trying to get his attention before, but he had been arrested by the memories of his time in the camp. “Micheal?”
He pulled away from her suddenly feeling hesitant to be touched at all as he came back to himself. Jack rushed to his side and worry shown in his big puppy dog eyes. He had a thick bone held in his mouth, but he pushed himself under Micheal's hands and in between him and his quarterstaff. His little feather duster tail worked furiously all the same like a tiny fan. Micheal forcefully evened out his breathing and crouched down to pet Jack before he let this episode take any more of his attention. The big black Bear Dog happily made a little circle and almost knocked him over as he leaned into Micheal.
The dogs enthusiasm forced a laugh from Micheal and he set his staff down to roll the Bear Dog onto his back and scratch through his thick fur and all down his belly. A thick paw and hind claws nearly caught Vivian as she stepped close with her spear in hand, but she stepped around the flopped over puppy to Micheal's side watching as Micheal soothed his frustrated and traumatizing memories with the simple joy of petting a dog.
Luna joined him taking instantly to rubbing Jack's ears and head as he lay on his back. She wore boots up to the thigh like Vivian, but the appeal wasn't so obvious under her knee length skirts. He had farmers wives complain about how it showed the 'turn of her calves'... Whatever that meant aside Luna was overall cute and made all the more so by her brand new and clear adoration of the big puppy Bear Dog. She even seemed to be holding back a little in how she petted him.
Jack rolled over then seemingly having a little too much attention and ran about the stable yard once and then once again. He had a good pace for his seeming ponderous shoulders and looked to be able to hold it for some time. He wasn't quite as lean and quick as a dog, or thick shouldered slow and steady as a bear, but somewhere in between. Overall he seemed to be an extra large sized newfoundland with overgrown paws and mouth that were both a bit more bear than dog. And was as big as some black bears he had seen when he lived in the northern parts of Minnesota for a while.
Vivian leaned over toward him looking down into his eyes before he got up with her spear held in one hand and her other held out to him. Her eyes shown with something bright and warm. Seeing that brought his thoughts around a little more into a brighter place and he picked up his staff before taking her hand.
Dexter stood leaning on the gate, his arms crossed and one leg up on the post decked out in full gear though his longbow was slung over his shoulder. His cool demeanor spoke volumes for what he thought of Jack as he ran circles around the yard, but it seemed a little dampened since yesterday. In fact his hands weren't on his weapons which clearly showed some progress.
“Call your beast in and lets get moving. It's about a days walk or more to Mayonn and we've spent half the morning waiting for you to get up. If we keep a good pace and jog or run some we'll make it though.” His eyes watched Micheal with a somewhat approving light, but as if he had only taken the first promising step in a long way to go.
“Come on Jack.” Luna said cheerfully to the Bear Dog who's ears snapped up at the call and he immediately went to her side. She had her hand on Jack's shoulder before she noticed Micheal's wry expression and wary gaze on Jack. She colored and her ears dipped a little as she explained herself. “Sorry. I should probably let you...” She trailed off as Micheal came close and patted Jack on the head.
“It's fine. It's good that he listens so readily.” Micheal said feeling a bit of pride for his new found companion. Jack accepted Micheal's head pats happily and eyed the gate under Micheal's other hand. It seemed he was ready to go. “Be good when we are out in the village. No running, growling, or going after horses got it?” He said to Jack.
Jack barked in response and sidled up next to Luna to sit beside her. He turned his head once to lick her bare arm which caused her to jump and laugh after reflexively taking a number steps away. Jack's ears perked up and he watched her until she stopped; his stance suggesting he was ready to chase. Luna went a bit pale, but Jack's tail went from wild to stiff as he slowly looked back to Micheal guiltily.
Micheal just shook his head and opened the gate. “Stick with me or Luna okay buddy?”
Jack barked and almost seemed to nod. Micheal still shaking his head went out the gate with the others. Jack stayed directly between him and Luna to an almost mocking degree.
“I wonder how much he actually understands.” Vivian said as they took to the broad street that ran through the middle of town and out at both ends heading northeast. “-And how much of it is magic and how much of it Bear Dog.”
Dexter laughed.
“It's gotta be all magic. If Bear Dog's acted like this they would have been tamed a long time ago.” He raised his hands to Vivian's chilly stare, but went on. “Just saying I see the uses. It's like having a Mastiff that doesn't need to be on a chain or kept muzzled. Even their handlers have more trouble with them than either of these two do.”
Luna nodded in agreement, but she did have her hand on Jack's back once again. Jack's tail gave a little wiggle as she came close once more.
“There's a good amount of magic involved if he's able to heal all those wounds over night.” Luna said. She grinned at Micheal. “Explains you crashing out last night too Micheal.”
Vivian was a little ahead and held out a hand for the party to stop as a four team wagon pulled into town loaded up with what looked to be half a farmers stock and his family before they stepped out onto the main road. Luckily the horses had blinders and didn't see Jack, but the children hanging off the back clamored around each other for a look. A blend of voices mixed everything but the clear words of 'bear dog' from their tongues as they passed by.
“Micheal and I used our first aid skills on him as well. Whatever magic there is was fortified by it. Combined with rest that's likely going to add up to overnight healing as good as Pelana's instant healing.” Vivian added.
Dexter laughed mockingly.
“Maybe. And maybe we should cut you and see how fast the wound heals.”
Vivian choked up on her spear to hold it threateningly with one hand and Dexter raised his hands again in defense of his person.
“I'm just saying.” He said innocently before looping his longbow off his arm before it fell into the dirt with his sudden movement. He held it casually in one hand and used it to point at Micheal's left hand. “Whatever he can do with those spirit marks will probably have some overlap. Most casters abilities have something or other to do with each other when they manifest.” He patted his quiver as it hung off his hip. It looked a little harder to access with his large pack on his back, but it seemed he was used to it regardless.
Luna gave him a disappointed frown at first, but it turned to a thoughtful one half way through his explanation. She brushed invisible wrinkles from her bright green silken dress and adjusted the straps of her own pack and harp case. The little silver flute seemed to have been put away for travel, but she did wear her wands at her hip, and had a small pouch on the other side now to balance them. It had turned out Luna was a deft hand at potions and herbs making her useful for all sorts of remedies and missions to tend to the sick and the plagued. Micheal knew the benefits of such potion use himself now. Apparently adventurer's were almost completely immune to all but magical plagues, and the back line focused of their number were often called in to deal with large or hard to manage outbreaks.
Micheal was surprised he remembered that from last night, but even as he did his mind flashed with images of the sick in the slave camp. Worry he had felt then washed over him. Fear he would die covered in sickly blistering rashes that turned gangrenous and dripped with puss while too weak from fever to move or act. He remembered the goblins being used by the shaman to treat them and keep them alive, and then using him when he proved so much better at it. His arms twitched, and phantom pains reached through his back and across his arms and the back of his legs as he remembered the sudden and very vivid feel of the whip landing on him in the shattered memories within his mind. But he kept walking. He tried to forget how many of them were women used as breeding stock for the orcs. His grip on his staff grew so tight that the wood began to creak.
When he pulled himself back and glanced around even Dexter was watching him with a concerned light. He realized he had been breathing so hard that it was almost like he was growling, and his heart hammered in his chest as though he had been running. Luna gulped nervously, but came to his side to touch his arm before reaching into her little pouch and handing him a tuft of herbs in a small paper pouch while Vivian made her way from the lead to behind Dexter and Jack to walk at Micheal's left.
“Here.” Luna said with a slightly uneasy smile that she was trying very hard to make completely sincere. She handed him the tuft and gestured for him to put a pinch into his lip. “It's all Mintweed leaf. It's good for nerves and an upset stomach as long as you don't have too much of it. Suck on it all day and you might tie your insides in knots, or at least it might feel like that.”
He eyed her. She smiled up at him even as her ears fought to keep from wilting and he just couldn't fight how cute she was. Inevitably he ended up tucking the little pinch of herbs into his lip and was surprised by the rush of mint that came with the first taste of it on his tongue.
“Thanks.” He said.
Dexter seemed to nod and dismiss what was going on as if nothing had just happened, and Luna's full blown smile and perked up ears forced a smile onto his own face. Vivian watched the exchange and smiled at him when he glanced at her, but he didn't ask why she suddenly moved so close to him. Her long graceful steps kept easy pace with them as they continued on in a silence Micheal found more than a little awkward after a while.
They were making easy time of heading down the road and not very many people seemed to be in sight as they headed on to Mayonn. Likely the news had them headed that way rather than to the rather small market at Rodust from wherever they were if they were not in Rodust or some other town already. They might have a chance at meeting an adventurer or the knights who patrolled the roads, but that even that was slightly unlikely. With nothing to interrupt them the silence went on and on until Micheal finally thought of something to say.
“Vivian says I gained the polearm skill after that fight.” He said only then noticing his dry throat. The heat of the day was really picking up and as they came upon the main road toward Mayonn the tree cover was pushed further and further from atop the road until they all walked in the clear sunlight. Clouds mixed in the distance speaking of rain in the day or so, but they would provide no shade until at least some time much later in the day.
“Good.” Dexter said immediately almost atop of Luna as she too spoke with sudden urgency.
“That's great. Vivian will have you at iron and ready to use a real weapon by the time we leave Mayonn.” The bunny woman said, her ears up tall and stiff for a moment before they went back to an almost methodical scan of the forest around them.
Vivian chuckled and eased her pack on her shoulders with her spear hand seeming to have lost what she was going to say before Luna spoke.
“We might manage that, but I'm concerned about the threat level indicated on his mark. It went from copper to iron when I left Rosebridge with him.” She said instead.
Dexter grunted as he eyed the retreating forest behind and beside them. Luna looked between Micheal and Vivian with a curious, but serious light in her large dark brown eyes. Jack caught her gaze and wagged his tail at Luna and she stepped forward quickly to rub the Bear Dog's ears which he seemed to enjoy immensely.
“I might ask reprieve at the temple in Mayonn. Maybe then we can get him a little more ready for whatever is following or ahead of us. Something about this- the orcs I mean – is giving me a bad feeling.” Vivian said after a moment.
The comment seemed to draw everyone's attention again. Dexter looked at Vivian and then at Micheal and then shrugged as he turned his gaze to Jack, and then back to their surroundings. An empty farm house lay ahead near the road, and the fields were tall with golden wheat and hay grass, but there wasn't a soul in sight, not even livestock. They had likely retreated to the more secure little towns with whatever they could carry.
Luna seemed to have thought it over and nodded.
“The goblins we've seen might have been iron rank for their number did it change after that?”
Micheal showed her the top of his left hand and how it was very much still outlined in iron. She shrugged with a slightly helpless expression. He remembered from the talk last night too that a reprieve could be given by any of the eight gods to spare an adventurer the weight of their blessing and curses handed to them by fate and their mark. For a small time at least, and often in trade for a task assigned to them by the God or Goddess themselves afterward.
“Maybe he's iron rank now with Jack?” Luna suggested carrying on with what she had been saying. “The encounter with a Bear Dog and then a goblin gathering party with an orc leader could be enough for an iron rank encounter.”
Micheal listened trying to follow along. Vivian considered what they were saying and then took a few steps ahead of Micheal to stop in front of him while swinging her pack from her shoulders into her hands. She directed him to lift her shirt. He did so with her holding down the front as the others turned back to see what they were doing. Dexter frowned, but Luna seemed to understand.
“What color is the outline of my mark?” She asked over her shoulder.
The curious twisting tree like patterns of her mark shown the dull gray of iron. Luna lifted her skirt to reveal a mark on her right thigh above her boots, revealing skin and the fact that she must be wearing a garter belt of some kind attached to her long stockings, but her mark was also lined with the steely gray of the iron marking. Dexter pulled down his odd short cloak thing and unstrung his shirt to show Luna his mark on his chest. She stood on tip toe standing near his face and carefully brushed the ties of his shirt out of the way as she checked his.
“Iron--” she almost finished before pulling roughly at his shirt in an urgent manner as she looked again. She didn't notice Dexter's indignant grimace. Her eyes went wide and she nearly flipped up her skirt fast enough to show her undergarments as she checked her mark again. She touched the silvery outline on her thigh and her ears had already gone up in the air. She gasped and fumbled at her small wand pack darting her gaze around.
Dexter drew an arrow from his quiver, equally wary, but much more calm. Vivian pulled down her shirt and adjusted her pack before taking her spear in two hands. The mark on her back had started to go silver as well. Micheal watched with curious and startled expression as the outline on his hand grew from dull iron gray to the clear metallic luster of polished silver.
Vivian nodded to him and the others.
“At a jog then?” She suggested.