They were moving south again, though her own pace was starting to slow them down. Her stomach wasn't massive yet but it was starting to get more and more noticeable. That and her frequent piss breaks.

She was always terrified Ultyr would be pissed by her slower pace. But she almost wanted to get her book out and tell him that its his fault for getting her pregnant before they had found what he wanted. Though she voted they go back to that island she had hid from him on, and they stay there until she was more travel ready. Not that Ultyr would accept that.

The group found themselves in a forest as the sun was sinking low. The brush and canopy creating a darkness inside that made her skin crawl. Definitely not her preferred hang out. Her paws were starting to feel raw from all the walking too. Just hopefully she could find a good spot to set up a temporary shelter and they could take a load off their paws. She could do with some sleep. Not that she figured it would be good sleep.

"Hear"

coded by NachoMumma

This was as good a place as any for their rest. Thought something about the woods was a little unnerving. Just a little more south and they'll reach the hot springs again. He had noticed the girl had been lagging a bit more than usual, it confirmed for him that she had indeed fallen pregnant. They needed to find the Judilans to help her, and hopefully, they'll also have his Angel as well.

He stopped their little group and lifted his nose to the air as they came to a small circle of stones, vines, and roots. It had an easy lookout point and seemed fairly defensible with only two points of entry in roughly the same area.

"Here is good." His paws were also starting to feel raw. He had caught a rabbit earlier on their trek and placed it aside for whoever was hungry first. He hopped up on the large stone and peered around them. Keeping an eye on Gany and Lai, it felt good to finally have another. They had trekked long and hard since Gany had joined them. It didn't make for much talk between them as yet. He would keep watch while the others took care of setting up camp.

"speech"

coded by NachoMumma

"Do Not Enter" is written on the doorway Why can't everyone just go away? Keeping pace with the others was easier than he thought it would've been, though he mainly focused on keeping up beside Lailah with her shorter legs and slowed pace. It made him feel like a protector in a way, though he highly doubted she needed that considering the other half of this traveling party. So whether or not he felt like a guard on duty, he busied himself with learning the plants of this region as they passed them, after all, he didn't have to stay as close as Lailah did. Sometimes slipping away if something caught his eye before coming back to join up again. That was how he was keeping his mouth shut easily though, the bundle of peppermint he had found on one of those little look-arounds, not for himself but for the quiet woman. At least this way he couldn't stick his foot in his mouth and press buttons for the moment.Just for the moment though. There was some irritation at the fact Ultyr was hiking a pregnant woman through the woods and mountains on this trip, and he would be voicing it once he could talk again. Ganymede was pulled out of his thoughts though when he noticed the sun dipping behind the canopy ahead of them, the darkness inside felt like it would be suffocating if he was honest and it had his hackles raising underneath the pelt across his back. There was no falter in his following after Ult and Lai however, the darkness here drove him to keep closer to them than he normally would. Once they found the circle of stones, and Ultyr seemed to approve, he found a good spot to drop the pelt onto the ground with the peppermint leaves on top of it before giving himself a good stretch. Once he was stranding he glanced at the rabbit before over at Lailah. "You should eat and rest, I'll take care of setting everything up here while conqueror dearest keeps watch up there." There was no heat to his words, unlike when they first met and he was full of biting remarks. Moving off to find things for a small fire to be lit while also keeping his eyes open for anything that could be useful. Walk, "Talk", Think, ’Others Speaking’ Except you, you can stay.

She had her eye on the prize, which was moving further south, towards the last place they had scented the weird familiar smells. But all it took to stop her was for Ultyr to do exactly as he had. Paired with the words as they came upon the small stone circle she was easily made to slow to a stop. "Here is good." she was about to turn and start working on setting things up when another statement had her looking at their newest companion. "You should eat and rest, I'll take care of setting everything up here while conqueror dearest keeps watch up there." a blink was the answer and a look towards Ultyr.

She was the slave here. Yeah she had noticed how Gany had been guarding her, but still wasn't it her job to treat the royals here like they were royals? A glance to the rabbit. She was kind of hungry for sure, but she was used to eating on command at this point. It wasn't hers until she was told it was. The words used for Ultyr were ignored by her as well.

With a final decision and determination she moved towards the woods past the rabbit. If Ultyr told her to stop she would but until then she should do as he expected still. She wasn't some fragile dame. She'd endured a lot under Archnemes and she wouldn't make someone do her job. She needed to get a fire going and see to Ultyr's needs before she could relax. And now with Gany she kind of wondered if Ultyr expected her to see to his needs as well. It wouldn't shock her to be honest. She was after all just a lowly slave born of peasants.

"Hear"

coded by NachoMumma

As they had traveled Ultyr had tried not to notice Gany's subtle slipping away. Though Lailah probably would have picked up that whenever Gany was out of sight Ultyr's fur along his shoulders would stiffen and his pace would subtly slow until the slender youth was in sight again. He had a Morningstar in his grasp, but he had promised Gany could leave if he wanted to. It irked the God-Prince to no end. He didn't know that every time Gany was out of sight whether it was him leaving them or not. He was mildly grateful for the silent trek though.

Ultyr watched out of the corner of his eye how the Judilans interacted while setting up the camp, his slave girl dutifully looking at him for confirmation about her tasks before assuming her typical duties. He wondered where the biting tone had gone in Gany's throat. Was he rethinking how Ultyr was inevitably treating his servant? Ultyr was a benevolent god, though he had succumbed to his mortal half when the girl had tried to play a prank, he regretted that mortal reaction. It had tainted her devotion to him he knew.

"Girl," He rumbled his voice toward her, calling her back, still unaware of her true name, "Let him set up the camp. You will eat." His gaze never left the shifting shadows of the vines beyond their camp. Making sure they were truly vines and not snakes or predators intending to cause his little party grief.

"Ganymede..." He said, his gaze finding the boy's shining pale lavender eyes in the growing darkness, "Stay close." He said nodding for Gany to continue on his chore, also ignoring the remark he had made about Ultyr. Ignoring how he wanted to see those eyes a little longer. He returned his burning gaze to their surrounds, perking his ears to a whisper on the wind knocking a few branches together. He didn't like this forest one bit, but it seemed the danger was merely shadows and fog.