Sirius was so busy lately with pack business and patrols, and Zee for the moment hated that he'd been promoted. It was good for him and good for them, but the small slave grew lonely with less wolves to talk to. Deathbelle was busy with her newborns and Zee struggled to stay for as long as she'd like with the influx of warm-wishers and family constantly visiting. Today she'd decided to take Sirius' snow leopard cub from the den for a walk, but it appeared that her titan had brought the thing with him for the day. Her ears flattened, and she stood outside the den with downturned lips as she tried to figure out something else to do with her day. There were many options, but none of them sounded like a great idea to her. The least awful of them all was to visit Lucretia. She'd been so busy with the newborns perhaps she could use a helping paw with something. Zee had been meaning to ask about that wink, too. Her head shook slowly, and she headed towards Lucretia's den. Once outside it she stopped, lifting her muzzle to sniff the air. Was Lucretia even home? With Zee's luck, she'd be with Deathbelle and the newborns or Dutch and the newborns or... that other mother and her newborns. Zee couldn't keep all the pack members straight anymore. "Hello?" She whispered into the den. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Bourbon wasn't with Lucretia as he normally was, his mistress wasn't as fond of being in his company as he was with her. Though she refrained from using the words overbearing, the dog somewhat realized she needed time to be alone even if he did not. The dog lay, somewhat dejectedly as his mistress had snuck off without him. His head lay on his pale paws, and bright icy eyes watched as the stranger approached.

Were this not a pack wolf Bourbon might have quickly gotten to his paws and barked at her. He was a hunter, he knew how to kill. A little fight didn’t scare him. However, he knew this to be Zee. Lucretia pointed out all the wolves that gathered at the sermon. He’d tried to memorize names and faces.

”Hello,” Bourbon returned lightly as he lifted his head to look at her properly. ”The Lady Lucretia is not in right now.” He offered as well, she was not the first to seek out the healer while he’d claimed the spot to nap.

Zee's ears lay flat upon her head hearing that Lucretia was busy as well. It seemed everyone was busy today. Her brows furrowed in frustration, and she kicked a small pile of dirt gently with a forepaw. "Oh." She muttered. "Sorry to disturb you." The servant considered turning to leave, but couldn't help but wonder about the canine who shared Lucretia's den. She eyed him side-long and wearily. "So... are you a new patient of hers?" He didn't look nor smell like a wolf, what was this creature doing in Ashen? Zee considered for a short moment that he could have been an intruder, waiting for the healer Klein to return so he could attack... but then she recalled his face at the sermon and remembered how close to Luce that he'd sat. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

She seemed more dejected than he expected, Bourbon tilted his head curiously. ”I am a healer, also. If you have need of medical attention.” He offered her just in case. ”You’ve been no bother. No I am not her patient, I was presented as a gift from her royal highness.” The dog offered honestly before finding his feet and pulling himself fully from the den. He had Luce’s scent all over him at this point, so there was little chance of him being mistaken as anything but hers. Bourbon held no qualms about being considered property, but he felt like his mistress saw him as more than that. He recalled the stampede the first day they’d met.. Surely he was more than a tool to her. ”My name is Bourbon, would you like for me to leave a message for her grace… ma’am?”

Zee leaned forward slightly to sniff the air as the canine stood, giving a thoughtful murmur as he offered his services as a healer. "I'm not in need of healing." She still wasn't completely sure what this... creature was doing in Ashen, but he did seem to belong to Lucretia from the scent of him. "A gift." She repeated softly, her head tilting as his did. "I see. I was a gift as well, at one point." It stung a little bit to remember her title of 'slave,' but now her mistress had elevated her to 'servant' and that seemed much more respectable in Zee's opinion. "Does Lady Lucretia treat you well?" She asked carefully. Some masters were not kind to their slaves, though this one did not seem upset nor angry at his situation. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

At least she wasn’t in dire need of his lady’s services, the blue tinged she wolf turned down his offer. At least there was some good news. Her reaction to how he came to be in Luce’s possession was more similar to her own than he expected. He pinned his ears and tilted his head curiously as she continued her questioning. Bourbon didn’t have anything better to do than entertain the woman. Unless Luce came back, then his attention was strictly hers. ”She treats me well, yes. I work hard for her, and I think she respects me for it.” He didn’t mention the more intimate details of their relationship, how she used him to hide her weakness or how he was the only one that could give her undisturbed sleep. He wasn’t even sure Lucretia knew everything he tried to do for her. ”My Mistress is very dear to me.”

It's a stampede!

The two pups servants chat with one another. In the distance, there's a rumbling. It's unmistakably the sound of hooves hitting the ground, though louder than most wolves would have ever gotten the chance to hear. Soon, the ground meeting the horizon darkens as a countless number of small boars flood the area. The stamping and panicked snorting drowns out any other noises in the area as they tromp straight towards the duo. It's a stampede! Don't worry, they'll be gone soon! Excuse them!

Zee was about to respond, pleased to hear that Lucretia treated this canine properly. Perhaps the healer Klein was having a change of heart regarding servants after all. All of a sudden a rumbling was heard. Zee was still outside the den, poking her nose in to speak with Bourbon. The rumble from behind grew louder quickly, and she turned to see what was the cause. A stampede? Another one? The servant had heard a different herd had trampled Ashen previously, whatever was happening with the world? She looked back to the dog fearfully. "Please, might I come in?" She was too polite to barge inside - especially as the den belonged to Lucretia whom was not the most fond of Zee and her attitude. The last thing she needed was to dodge death by boar and come out to a punishment for intruding on the privacy of a Klein. "Please?" She waited to see what he might say, paws tapping anxiously against the ground. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

He had to admit after the first stampede after he’d just gotten to Ashen he never expected to go through another one, but as the sound welled up from beneath him all he could think about was how Lucretia was handling the event. He hoped she was nowhere near. With pinned ears the dog didn’t hesitate to allow Zee by, he might not have been the real owner but he wasn’t about to let her stay out there and get trampled, and she was obviously fearful of the animals. She didn’t react like Luce had though, her eyes were still cognitive.

”Yes hurry, to the farthest room. It’s made of stone.” Where he’d held onto Lady Lucretia while the deer thundered overhead. Thankfully during the last there had been no lasting damage to the healing den. The dog led the way back, knowing this time he had to be professional. He was lucky Luce hadn’t passed him on to the next Klein for his behavior.

Zee took little time to hurry in once granted entrance, moving back to the room he'd directed her to. She sat down in the middle of the room, looking up worriedly at the ceiling as she stampede continued before relaxing with a quiet exhale when it became apparent that nothing would break through the den's walls. "Thank you." She said after a moment, giving the canine a small smile. It was an interesting event to meet the other slave during, but it had interrupted her questioning and Zee was still curious. "If I may ask, what are you?" Her head tilted as she looked him over, gaze wandering over his frame. He was definitely not a wolf, whatever he was. But why would Ashen have procured a slave that was a different species? What use to Lucretia was this other creature? "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

The ceiling didn’t fall in on them, and the sound of heavy hooves was much less daunting beneath the stone. Zee made haste to the middle, and as her safety was made certain she seemed to relax. Enough that she might be able to converse. Bourbon coiled his haunches and curled his long haired tail around his paws as she thanked him, and eventually asked what he was. Bourbon shouldn’t have been surprised he was asked the question more than once. He knew he couldn’t pass for a wolf, that was laughable. However it seemed any kind of dog culture was lacking.

”I’m a dog.” He told her easily. ”I come from a long line of shepherds that were descended from wolves from a time long forgotten.” He wondered if she was interested in the history of his family. Not many knew he carried an old family name for instance.