After taking care of Jack and getting him settled in his stall in the stables with strict instructions to stay put provided by Vivian and reinforced by Micheal the High Elf insisted that they both see the bathing rooms again, and had in fact had Mrs. Arlee getting the bath ready for them as they were settling Jack down. This of course was a bath taken together once again, and when they made it back up to their room Vivian made quick work of getting them both sweaty again before they fell asleep in each other's arms.

Micheal lay awake wrapped up with Vivian feeling the gentle exhaustion of a day spent walking beside the deeper feeling of rising contentment with how things were with Vivian. She made clear in the bath that she would not chance outdoor encounters like they had the day their new beloved doggy companion Jack had almost sneaked up on them. Not to mention what it would be like for Dexter and Luna to hear or see what they were doing, but that he should expect and plan for them to make time when they could have time alone indoors.

Which was all well and good for Micheal. The general new partner excitement was fading a little, but Micheal could feel their relationship growing a little stronger more and more as the days went on. He couldn't decide what made his heart race more. Or maybe it was that spirit bond thing. He wasn't sure what to think of that, but Vivian certainly didn't seem overly bothered by it at least outwardly. Even mentioning that she hardly felt tired at all before quite literally riding him into bed and falling asleep on him in a tangle of warm limbs.

He brushed her hair from her face and touched the ends of her ears gently as he admired her. She was lovely. Sexy. Determined. Knowledgeable. Experienced...well in adventuring at least. She had been told curious stories about what exactly could be done during sex that just didn't add up in reality. Whoever had told her those stories must have had a good imagination.

Her ears were nearly as long as his fingers, and crisscrossed with blood vessels that indented their surface and carried her blushes when she got worked up. They weren't like Luna's ears that seemed to wilt and flicker this way and that, but Vivian's ears did seem to peak up when she was attentive or excited, and sort of relaxed more than wilt when she did. He wondered how they managed not to get sunburned as he felt what he thought must have been comparably delicate skin like that of his own ears, but the ear was thick skinned like some sort of extremely soft and smooth leather with cartilage underneath. Vivian made a small sound in her throat and pulled close to him as she slept. After that he left her ears alone, but he still felt pretty awake and full of energy though his body was still a little worn from the day still.

He traced the smooth lithe lines of Vivian's body with his fingers and put his face down near hers to touch his nose and forehead to the top of hers as she snuggled into him. Her hair smelled of the soap from the bath and her skin a little of that and something more. A smell that was all her. He closed his eyes and soaked that in. He felt so thankful that she had found him. That she loved him even as much as she did, and even for a moment that he was in this place at all. That shocked him since he had gone through so much pain and agony in the orc slave camp, but still he felt it.

How much different would it have been if he hadn't been hurt or killed that day on the cut loop? Was Dennis being fed? He held his eyes shut tight and breathed in Vivian's scent once more. He concentrated on it and let it relax him. He felt her stir and draw a little closer as the night air closed in cool through the open window. Something in the air told him there was another storm coming. He pulled the blankets up to cover her and pulled in close. Vivian made soft sounds and pawed at him when he moved, but settled as he found a comfortable way to rest with her still mostly in his arms. After that he just breathed her in and waited for sleep to take him.

He awoke later to the gentle touch of Vivian's lips against his. And then the touch of her body atop him as she kissed down his neck hungrily. It didn't take much more communication for her to tell him she yet again desired copulation and he willingly obliged her though she was a bit startled when he flipped her over onto her back on the bed and took her legs in his arms.

Later they were dressed and getting ready to head down when Micheal was eyeing his new bruise in the small slightly warped mirror of their little inn suite. There was a small ring on the side of his neck now and it was turning purple quickly where it wasn't bright red where the teeth dug in a little more in spots. Vivian was giving her things a last once over with everything packed up and put away about her person and her bags when she noticed his gaze through the mirror.

She came to his side.

“We can put a little ointment on it and it will clear up faster if you're worried. I said I was sorry.”

“Sorry for biting me?” He asked with a wry smile and a raised eyebrow.

Vivian went bright red up to her ears and swatted at his shoulder.

“I told you to slow down, and that I couldn't keep my voice in so that's what you get. I had to do something.” She fussed with her belts and her armor as he shot her a satisfied grin in the mirror. Her true blushes were lovely and brilliant.

He checked his own pack and looked over the room once more before running a hand over his chin. It turned out that the straight razor provided a good shave when you were careful and had the nerve for it, or maybe that was just the High Elven sharpening stones Vivian let him use on the razor. Vivian had guided him through it in the bath last night and he seemed to have done a good job even being the morning after. He would likely get the chance to shave in a bath again once they got back to the city, but for now they would be using Dexter and Vivian's tracking skills to follow up on the pack of orcs that they had found the day before. Vivian encouraged him to try to find a way to get Jack to follow the trail as well to make use of Bear Dog's natural talents with scent. He thought about that as he was getting dressed and when they ate breakfast.

A question put to Mrs. Arlee revealed that Jack had done just as asked and her stableman, named Eustace, had thrown the beast a tough cut of meat already as a reward for staying in his pen. That bothered Micheal a little, but he didn't mention it to the innkeeper. Obedience was usually best rewarded by a single or pair of hands when it came to animals, but perhaps with the magic of the mark effecting his skills it wouldn't be an issue if that happened a time or two. Still he was the first to finish his breakfast and was out to the stables to see Jack.

The big black Bear Dog was happily gnawing on the end of the bone that had been provided with the cut of meat, and his eyes shot up to the stable gate as Micheal walked up to it. His little feather duster of a tail went wild as Jack remained fixed on the bone and Micheal came to sit beside him in the hay. Jack eventually raised his head from the bone to arch back against Micheal and nearly topple him to the ground. Like a puppy Jack didn't realize just how big he was and hence was a little rough with his affection, but affection it was.

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Micheal petted the big puppy bear, turning him over onto his back with some effort and rubbing his loose belly, scratching his chin, and laughing as his hind leg went wild at the same rate as his tail. Jack's long claws and heavy jaws pawed and played with Micheal with gentle strength, but claws and jaws they were. Jack would be vicious in a truly aggressive attack and Micheal begrudgingly understood some of what Dexter had been trying to get across yesterday. No matter how much of a puppy Jack was he was still a Bear Dog, something like a mastiff that came as wide as the creature was tall.

Micheal looked forward to training him and having the strong creature at his side in the fights he would likely soon be committed to, but part of him wanted Jack to know none of violence. Most dogs would, when their owners were in danger at least, take to violence to protect their masters, but something in that made Micheal sad.

He had known a good many happy and healthy dogs who cared for nothing more than to have their head on someone's lap as they watched a game, or to run outside playing fetch, or just fill their days with chasing the family kids around. He wasn't sure if he wanted to see even the massive clawed and fanged Jack committed to anything like a battle even if he was going to himself undoubtedly. He certainly would do whatever he could to stop these orcs from doing what had been done to him to others, but for some reason the thought of putting this puppy into it with him was taking him aback.

Jack stared up at him with his big doggy eyes, pausing in the brief moment of play as Jack picked up on Micheal's mood. Jack had the lips of a bear, able to move them about semi-articulately as to get berries and the like, but those pulled away and his tongue lolled out in a big doggy grin as Jack sat upright and nudged Micheal's chin with his nose. Micheal put his hand on the Bear Dog's big paw on his leg and sighed. Jack made a soft sound in his throat, not quite a growl or bark, but nudged his chin again and again until Micheal was smiling and pushing him back and away. Jack's tail started up again even as Micheal rolled the big creature over once more, but Jack tumbled and scrambled up to his feet and urged Micheal up by putting his head under his arm and then his legs as he tried to stand. Jack had him stumbling, but the Bear Dog with head low like a Bear walked out of the stall ahead of Micheal occasionally looking back at Micheal to make sure he was coming along. His eyes looked expectant.

“Right, I promised you we would put up snares and go fishing today.” Micheal said as he realized where Jack was trying to take him.

Jack barked in response and skittered away from the response made by the horses in the front of the stable. Micheal winced and called Jack to his side to make their way out the back of the stables before Eustus could give them an earful.

Getting Jack out of the little village in the light of day without startling anyone was no small feat. Luckily Jack had a natural sort of stealthiness born of his days in the forest keeping low and to cover for the most part. Yet maybe that was just Jack feeling Micheal's own nervous unease. They cut through a field instead of taking the road. That only caused a single small incident as a farmer thought a bear dog had broken into his field, but Micheal had that sorted by an impromptu showing of how Jack could be ordered to sit, stay, and roll over. The farmer of course dismissed it as 'adventurer nonsense', but did pet Jack around the ears before they moved on mentioning yet again these 'Hillsland Shepards' his party had mentioned while doing so themselves.

It seemed that Micheal would have to find a way to meet one of these creatures sooner rather than later. Maybe if that meant another beastmaster he could pick up some easy tips or magic of some kind. He kept that thought in mind as he kept on.

Micheal made his way out toward the camp they had made last time by the road with Jack by his side. The bear dog heeled incredibly well, and didn't run ahead too far or fall behind at sight or sound of something. Mostly Jack just wagged his tail and followed beside Micheal. They found the camp and the rest of the party waiting. Luckily Micheal had planned ahead of time with one of the guards on the best way in and out of the village with Jack though it was a bit of a detour. Vivian patted her legs and asked Jack to come to her when they appeared. The Bear Dog saw the gesture and heard his name, paused for a moment, and then broke into a happy trot to rush to her. Vivian smiled and laughed as the Bear Dog came to her hand just as Micheal had explained he would. She twirled her fingers and Jack rolled on the ground for her before popping back up to receive more delighted pets.

It was only then that Micheal noticed Jack had taken off the bandages on his paw, and that Jack wasn't limping. He furrowed his brows at that wondering about the Bear Dogs rate of healing. Something with his familiar spirit mark that had shown up maybe?

Luna watched with a certain interested horror that had her face twisted up in some sort of half grin, but Dexter just shook his head and kept at packing up the rest of the traps he had retrieved today. Likely he had come out early again since their plan was to find just how many of the orcs were passing through the area. He hadn't been at the Inn for breakfast. Micheal wasn't exactly looking forward to it, but luckily since he knew only the very basics of any sort of tracking his job would be to help secure the camp and manage a sort of back line with Luna in case anything were to happen while Vivian and Dexter were out.

Jack might be useful with his strong sense of smell, but Micheal had admitted the night before he wasn't sure just how trained Jack was in reality. Both Luna and Vivian said since a type of Beast Mastery rune had appeared on his mark it was likely Jack would have a number of skills trained already, essentially making Jack his first familiar. That had led to the discussion of how Micheal would train a dog of his home world, and he had shown Vivian and the others as much.

So far Vivian seemed to be the only one with any enthusiasm for it. The trouble was he was apparently supposed to have a better feel for the abilities than he had. He would figure them out with time he was sure. The things with the Mark of Fate, or Adventure or whatever was new to him, but he had written magic into this setting since the outset. He knew that if he tried he would eventually end up wielding some sort of magic, and the Marks only seemed to help that along.

For the most part his plan for the day was to fish in the nearby stream between every hour or so when he would be checking his snares and traps. He would be running Jack through commands and at Vivian's prompting, using Jack to not only finish the snared game, but to have him bring at least a few back to camp. Luna would be staying at camp, or otherwise nearby Micheal as she used her herb gathering and other botany related skills to gather wild vegetables and useful herbs as well as cooking the game and fish Micheal caught. Harvesting meat and leather would be up to Micheal as a way to raise his skills, and to deal with the fact that Luna had no harvesting skills that dealt animals.

Both would need to be on alert for Vivian's and Dexter's alarm whistle if they were coming back with anything green skinned on their tail. The plan then was to run back to the village and team up with the village guard to scare the chasing goblins back, but only as a last resort. One long whistle would be the sign to haul ass back to the village. Two short bursts meant to come to their aid in combat. Three was the worst call out as it meant they were stuck fighting and needed aid to retreat, but Dexter and Vivian had provided those instructions only as a last resort. They had no intention of getting so close to the orc camp or so hot on their trail as to alert them. They would only get as best a count they could manage and then return to report the orc band's whereabouts.

Micheal was handed multiple sets of snares by Vivian who had collected Dexter's and her own to add to his. The plan was to gather enough pelts to make at least some coin for Micheal, and enough meat to sell both here in Rodust and out at Mayonn. The fish would largely be for Jack and the party to eat, and since Jack would likely eat about as many as all of them so Micheal could finally let loose fishing and keep at it a while.

Vivian planted a surprise kiss on his cheek before she left. He caught her eyes and that vulnerable smoldering light was there for a moment as her finger drifted across the top of his left hand. She tapped the rainbow colored spirit mark as it shifted colors and then drifted into the forest after Dexter. Micheal found himself staring out into the forest where she left only to come back to himself when Jack put his head under his hand. He shook himself and bent down to pet Jack when he noticed Luna's wry smile as she sat at one of the logs pulled near the fire pit.

“What?” He asked her.

Luna just looked up at him with her ears half wilted, then shook her head as a wry smile grew across her face.

“Just never thought of Vivian as the kind to take a lover, but it's good to see you're head over heels with her too.” Luna said simply. She was digging in her pack for what looked to be the second of a pair of gloves she had resting on the log beside her. They looked to be made of leather, but with thick dyed linen covers stitched atop them that bore floral patterns that made Micheal think of his grandmother's house. Her ears perked up as she found the other and she put them on. She nearly jumped as she went to stand as Jack was scooting close to her wagging his tail.

She winced as she did it, but with gloves on she patted Jack's head once before retreating into the woods to begin her foraging.

Micheal laughed at his new doggy companion who looked a little put out that Luna hadn't pet him more. He stared at the curious rainbow mark on his hand as he ruffled both of Jacks' ears. He thought about Vivian and whatever new connection the ability he gained gave them.

“Come on boy lets go set up these snares and see about catching some lunch.”