Rosen Cauldwell was an elf.

He had been born in Keldale, a major elven capital far to the west, and had grown up there. He had stayed his entire life in Keldale without once leaving its walls, and had been quite happy. Although he'd only been eleven at the time, he had set up a small booth selling Manan bread next to his parent's house. He'd even made a small amount of pocket change.

That had all changed when they had gone on what was supposed to be a short vacation to the beach. They had been captured by slavers on the way, and his father had been killed. Rosen and his mother were carted from black markets to cartels to places best left forgotten.

One of those such places had been the path under the mountain, the path that had no name and yet was known by everyone trying to smuggle their things. It was there that the great Dog Petey had fallen from the sky and rescued them.

Rosen knew a lot about the Pantheon. He had been raised on stories of the blessed queen Edra, who granted experience to everyone for even the smallest of accomplishments. He'd made pillow forts inspired by the warrior king Phocos, whose power was without comparison. He'd been scared into behaving from tales about Melanin, even after he learned that the Reaper only dealt death as a manner of peacefully leading people from the world... and meting it out to those who truly deserved it.

He had not once heard any stories about Petey the dog, but he was going to make some.

Because Petey was the best!

Rosen could ignore the marks on his wrists from where the manacles had bit into his skin. They were barely visible anymore, a result of Petey's ministrations. He wasn't hungry anymore, because Petey had led them to a colony of very helpful anuran. He'd even seen his mom smile, for the first time in two years, when the dog licked her!

All of the deities on the Pantheon had their places, and he was still grateful to them for sure, but Petey was the most hands-on one he'd ever met. Faster and stronger and nicer than anyone or anything he'd ever heard of! Although he didn't want to say it out loud, he had a secret inward belief that Petey could even beat the Hero.

He could almost skip now. He didn't quite have the hang of it, since he was new to the activity, but he would get used to it soon enough. He had time, and he was free.

His feet were splashing in the shin-high water, making it even harder to do, but it would happen eventually. Everything could happen if someone gave it enough time - there had been no chance of getting free before Petey showed up, but that had happened.

Coming around the small hut they'd been staying in, he froze.

The orc was leaning against the back wall, eyes closed and head lowered. She had green skin and thick black hair, with rough features and dense muscles. Her lips were moving, two tiny fangs jutting up from her lower lip, but Rosen couldn't hear any words.

Jumping back behind the house, Rosen crouched and put his hands over his ears, trying to drown out the pounding of his heart. The fear was rapidly overrun by anger.

The orc was the one thing Rosen couldn't understand about Petey. He'd recognized that they were slaves, and decided to save them because he was awesome, but why had he let the orc join them!? She was a slaver! She was a bad guy. Petey should've killed all of them for being such terrible people. Rosen's mom still cried at night when she thought Rosen was asleep!

He folded his arms, sliding down the wall and getting his pants wet. He didn't get it. Petey was the best anyone ever (aside from his mom, of course), but he was okay with the orc coming with them. So... he thought the orc wasn't a bad person. Somehow.

Rosen couldn't accept it.

Being a thirteen-year-old and so therefore absolutely fearless most of the time, he decided to go find Petey and just ask him. He knew that the spider who he definitely wasn't scared of would talk for him, translating from doggy into person. It was weird. Alana said that Petey had talked back in the caves, but he'd been acting like a different dog, so maybe it was some kind of spell that changed him so he could talk, but made him think different?

He'd had a lot of spare time to think ever since they'd arrived at Mudbarrow. Most of his thoughts were occupied with Petey and whether he could help them go back to Keldale, but the dog seemed satisfied with staying here for now, which was alright.

Traipsing around the village and trying to ignore the weird feeling wet pants gave him, Rosen found Petey lying in the sun on a rock, surrounded by perfectly clear water, with his eyes closed and an expression of bliss on his face. His tongue was hanging out of the side of his mouth as he panted.

At least six young anurans were seated in the trees above him, raptly watching Petey with a gaze of avid curiosity. Their eyes flicked to Rosen as he walked forward, and the air suddenly grew thick with anticipation.

Rosen swallowed, startled by the unexpected attention, but moved closer anyway. "Petey? Can I ask you something?"

Petey rose his head, blinking owlishly as he looked around before finding Rosen. A massive smile burst onto his face like a blast of sunshine on a clear sky, and he stood up. After a brief round of stretching, he shook his fur and hopped off the rock, giving Rosen a good lick.

He felt the mind-linking Skill a few seconds later as a fuzzy gray shape lifted from the top of Petey's head, all of her eyes sparkling intelligently. Hello. What is it?

Rosen suddenly felt nervous. Petey's time was probably super important. What if he'd been doing something really powerful and mystical when Rosen had shown up? That would have explained the golden light coming off of the dog. What if he'd interrupted something that would have helped them? What if Rosen had ruined-

Petey walked forward and gave Rosen a massive lick to the face, and Rosen's doubts and worries evaporated. He didn't even feel hungry anymore. Wiping his face and beaming, he gave Petey a hug around the neck. Alana had told him Petey really liked those, and if the way Petey leaned into it was any indication, she'd been right. "Sorry. Can I ask a question?"

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The spider very close to his head somehow smiled, mandibles curving upwards. Does the question you just asked count?

Rosen's mouth dropped into a round O as he backed away, and he heard the spider laugh. I'm teasing you. What's your question?

He scratched his head, unable to make eye contact. "Well, I know Petey has reasons for everything - I'm Rosen, by the way - and he probably knows a lot more than I do but I was kind of wondering about the orc who's been following us and why Petey lets her follow us because I think she's a bad guy and I don't know if it's possible to trick Petey but she might be doing that and I don't want anyone to get hurt but I'm really mad at her because of everything that happened." He finished breathlessly, panting slightly.

Dog and spider blinked at him in surprise, and then Petey gave a barking laugh. The spider shook her head. If I may say so privately, Rosen, Petey doesn't always have a reason for what he does beyond he thinks it's the nice thing to do.

Rosen's eyes were downcast. "But... she's a bad guy."

The spider folded her front legs, looking down at him with a reasonable expression. Allow me to put it this way. If Petey thought she would hurt any of you, do you think he would let her stay?

He blinked slowly, rolling the question around his mind. "No, not really, but... do I have to like her?"

She smiled at him again. You don't have to like anybody. Not everybody can be like Petey. He doesn't risk anything by loving everyone. He's invincible on the outside and stronger than anyone I know. Probably stronger than anyone alive. It lets him make friends with anyone he wants to without worrying about whether or not they'll betray him, but the thought they wouldn't love him back would probably hurt him more than anything they could actually hit him with.

Rosen looked up at her, the insatiable curiosity of a growing teenager proving more powerful than his embarrassment. "What do you mean?"

Petey isn't omnipotent, Rosen, and he's definitely not omniscient. He can protect everyone but himself, and I'm going to try to protect him from people who want to take advantage of that. Including the orc. Her voice got a certain bite to it right at the end, and Rosen shivered in spite of himself.

But, she immediately added, that doesn't mean I'm going to distrust everybody who so much as looks at him the wrong way. He wouldn't want me to do that anymore than I would want him to change the way he sees the world. By the way, he can't hear any of this. She includesd with a note of humor. He thinks you're just standing here for a long time. Actually, he's starting to fall asleep, much as he hates to admit it. The sun makes him sleepy.

A close look at Petey showed Rosen that it was very much true; the dog's eyes were starting to droop and his tongue was slowly slipping out of his mouth.

What I suppose I'm trying to say here is that you don't have to like or even get along with the orc. I don't know her and I don't know what she and those she accompanied did to you. But Petey won't get it if you ask him to get rid of her. He genuinely wouldn't understand it if you said that you hated someone, because he's never hated anyone. But if she hurts anybody, let us know and I'll tell Petey to handle it, okay?

Rosen nodded slowly, a plan rapidly forming in his mind. "Okay. Thanks, spider."

My name's Leula, She gently told him, but Rosen was already walking away.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Rosen peeked out from behind his makeshift cover, going over the plan in his mind one last time.

The orc was still leaning against the back wall of their hut, her mouth still moving silently. The building provided a small amount of shade from the sun, which was gradually growing warmer as the morning progressed.

Taking a deep breath, he stood up and walked over to the orc. "Hey, you. Why-"

The orc's eyes snapped open and she leaped to her feet, stumbling away from him with eyes wide. Rosen nearly screamed himself, but she seemed more scared of him than he was of her. A sudden rush of confidence came over him despite the fact she had a good two feet on him, and he folded his arms. "Why are you here?"

Her eyes shifted from side to side, unwilling to look at him. "What do you mean?"

Rosen pointed a finger at her. "No! I question the asks, not you." He realized what he'd said and flushed, trying to regain his dignity. "I mean, I ask the questions. You don't. Because... I do." The sentence ended as clumsily as it'd started, and the orc's forehead creased in confusion.

Shaking it off, Rosen demanded, "Why are you here? Why did you come with us? You were terrible to us!"

She stared at the dirty water they were both standing in. "I have to repay my debt to Petey. No matter what it takes, or long I have to make penance."

That had not at all been the response Rosen was expecting, and it threw him. "What debt? Didn't he almost kill your leader?"

Her face twisted in anger, smooth lines contorting into a mask. "He was my captor, not my leader. I've been trying to get away from that rach daq'vishnik for a long time."

Rosen blinked. "Rach... what?"

She started, looking a bit embarrassed. "Nothing that should be translated. Sorry."

A long and extraordinarily awkward silence followed. Rosen stared at the ground, trying to think of something to say. He'd been planning on interrogating the orc until she cracked and attacked him, and then he could go to Petey and get him to make her go away. Granted, he hadn't had a plan for how exactly to go about that, and now that he thought about it the whole thing seemed like a bad plan. He started to turn around and leave.

"Do not accept my apology."

He paused, turning around. The orc was kneeling, her hair covering her face and leaving the nape of her neck exposed. "What are you - wait, what?"

She continued, her voice hoarse and trembling. "Do not accept my apology. I do not deserve to be forgiven after what we did to you and your family. I do not deserve to be in the company of you or Petey. I do not deserve to live."

Clenching one hand into a fist, she brought it to her left collarbone. "If you so desire, you may kill me. I will not struggle." She pulled her hair out the way, leaving her neck even more vulnerable.

Rosen was petrified. Part of him wanted to accept the offer, wanted to get revenge for his dad. Wanted to get revenge for the tears his mom had shed over the past two years. The other part of him wanted to tell her to leave forever and never come back.

And then there was another, distant voice that reminded him she had been a captor. He didn't know anything about her, in much the same way she knew nothing about her.

He doesn't risk anything by loving everyone.

No, Petey didn't risk anything.

Rosen was risking everything.

Heart hammering in his ribcage, he patted her shoulder. She flinched. "Hey. Stand up."

She promptly straightened, and after a moment of hesitation, Rosen extended his hand. It was a nearly universal greeting from what Rosen had been told. "I don't forgive you. And I'm still mad at you. But Petey forgives you, okay? So... live up to it, I guess."

The orc stared at him with blank shock, and then came a totally unexpected reaction. She bit her lower lip as barely restrained tears flooded to her eyes, and she wiped them away with her free hand. "I will... strive to do so." She reached out, hesitated, and then accepted his handshake. "Petey is incredible."

Rosen nodded, still uncertain about his decision. "Yeah, he really is. Do you know how to make songs?"

She blinked, thrown by the sudden change in topic. "No. Why?"

He sat down, resting one cheek on his hand. "I was going to write a song about Petey, but I don't know how to sing."

After a moment, the orc sat down next to him, several feet away. "I can only sing the war chants of the clan I was born into. They are... unsuited for someone like Petey."

Rosen left it at that for a minute, simply sitting there.

"I'm Rosen, by the way."

"I'm Dolai. Nice to meet you, Rosen."

"You too."