While Dee had been recounting the story of their journey to the Ignas Verdan village, Xan had been focusing on trying to eat his jambalaya. Pretty soon everyone around the table had eaten their fill. Nakoa excused himself, then headed out the front door after Stell. Leimomi kept flipping through the pages in Dee’s notebook, asking her to explain each and every picture.

Xan listened to their banter for a few minutes. Then he scooped some leftover shrimp out of his bowl. Tucking it away in his hand, he made his way out of the inn as well.

“Oh! Um… don’t mind me,” he said when he ran into Stell and Nakoa sitting on the front porch.

He made his way back around to the stables. The stray dog sat up again as he approached, but this time it recognized him, and it quickly went back to lying down.

Xan whistled a short, sharp whistle. “Shadow! I’ve got some shrimp for you!”

He waited for a long moment, looking up towards the stable roof. But he didn’t see Shadow appear, nor did he hear her squeak in reply.

“Shadow! Come on, girl!” he called again.

A feeling of unease began to grow in the pit of his stomach. Looking around, he saw a short stepladder leaning against the side of the stables. He pulled it out and climbed up.

“Shadow, you better come eat this before I do,” he teased as he pulled himself up to look over the edge of the roof.

But Shadow wasn’t there.

Xan squinted, sure that the fading light was playing tricks on him. Then he heard a hoot, and on the far side of the stable roof he could just make out the form of Sage. The owl glared at Xan with his big, orange eyes, like he couldn’t believe that Xan had dared to disturb him.

Xan looked around the stable roof once more before concluding that she was no longer up there. He climbed down from the step ladder and looked around the yard.

“Shadow? Where are you, girl?” he called out.

But Shadow was nowhere to be seen. So, Xan did the only thing his panicking mind could think to do. He dashed back around to the front of the inn. Stell and Nakoa saw him running, and Nakoa held out an arm to stop him.

“Woah, there! What’s wrong?” Nakoa asked.

“Shadow’s gone!” Xan cried.

Then he pivoted and burst through the front door of the inn, thoughts racing. He looked toward the table where they had all eaten dinner, but only Dee and Leimomi were still there. He raced over, forcefully planting his hands on the table.

“Where’s Taika?” he demanded frantically.

Dee looked up at him in alarm.

“She went upstairs to wash up. Why? What’s—Xan!”

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But Xan was already halfway across the room. He bolted up the stairs and down the hallway. The washroom on the right was closed, so he assumed Taika was in that one.

“Taika! Taika, are you in there? Taika!” he called, pounding his fist on the door.

There was a shuffling sound. Then the door opened, and Taika stepped out with a disgruntled look on her face. Her clothes hung at odd angles like she had gotten dressed in a hurry.

“What is it, Xan?” she asked tersely before she realized how flustered he looked.

“Shadow’s—Shadow’s gone!” Xan gasped, gesturing back towards the stairs.

“Gone? What do you mean, gone?” Taika asked, running a hand through her curls.

“I mean, she’s gone! I went out to see if I could coax her down with some shrimp, but when I got out to the stables she wasn’t there, so I tried calling for her, but she didn’t come, and—and—”

“Woah, woah! Slow down! Take some deep breaths,” Taika said, putting her hands on his shoulders. She took a deep breath in and blew it out slowly. Xan followed her example, forcing himself to breath. Then he collapsed to his knees, as he suddenly felt too weak to stand. But, eventually, he did calm down.

He took a deep, shuddering breath. He looked up at Taika.

“I need your help,” he pleaded softly.

Taika held his gaze for a moment. Then she took a deep breath of her own.

“Alright. Let me get my coat,” she said.

The two of them made their way back down the stairs, where they ran in to Dee and Leimomi. Once Xan explained what was going on, the four of them made their way outside. Stell was still sitting on the edge of the porch, puffing on the last dregs of her snuff. She watched them with her good eye as they went around the back of the inn to the stables.

Nakoa was already there when they arrived. He had grabbed a pitchfork and was carefully using the haft to parse through the piles of straw in the stalls.

“I haven’t seen her yet,” he said when he noticed Xan approaching with the others.

“Come on, Lei-lei. Let’s check over here,” Dee said, gesturing to the far end of the yard.

While the two of them went off to look, Taika went over to the stables. Her horse nickered in greeting, and the dog jumped up, its tail wagging.

“Hello, you two,” she said, patting her horse on the nose. “Have either of you seen Shadow around?”

The horse turned his head sideways to look at Taika with one eye. The dog perked up its ears, giving her a confused look.

“The little weasel Xan had with him. She was here before, on the roof, remember?”

The horse snorted, shaking his mane. The dog whined, its ears and tail drooping. Taika frowned. Then she took a couple steps back, whistled loudly, and held up an arm. A moment later Sage fluttered down.

“Sage, have you seen Shadow?” she asked.

Sage hooted a couple times, fluffing up his feathers before giving himself a shake. Taika’s expression went from frustration to disbelief. She slowly turned back to Xan.

“He says… that she left shortly after you came to check on her,” she said cautiously.

“What?!” Xan exclaimed. He anxiously stepped closer to Taika and Sage. “Why? Where did she go?”

“He says she said something about ‘learning how to fend for herself’… and how she didn’t want to be ‘just a pet’,” Taika said hesitantly.

Xan stared at her in shock and disbelief. He anxiously ran a hand through his hair. His thoughts began to race as he tried to process everything.

“Just… a pet? Just a pet? Shadow’s not just a pet!” he said, the volume of his voice increasing.

“I know, Xan,” Taika said, holding up a hand to try to calm him down.

“Why would she think that?” Xan said as he began to pace. “Is it because of what happened today? That wasn’t her fault. If anything, it’s that mangy dog’s fault!”

The dog slunk backwards into its stall, tucking its tail between its legs and whining fearfully.

“Taika, please, you have to find her!” Xan said, holding his hands out in a pleading gesture.

“Me? Why me?” Taika cried, looking taken aback.

“You’re an Essos Verdan, aren’t you? Isn’t this your job?” Xan said.

Taika’s brow furrowed angrily.

“No. My job is to teach people how to take care of their creatures. And if you took better care of yours, this wouldn’t have happened!”

“Now hold on—” Nakoa tried to intervene.

“Fine, then! If you won’t help me, I’ll find her myself,” Xan said.

He turned and left the yard, fading away into the shadows.