A Shiver of Light

The woman had been so spaced out that she hadn't even heard the collie approach. It wasn't until he spoke her name that the woman snapped out of her mental reverie. Two-toned eyes blinked in slight surprise and she turned her head to look at the approaching form. Ah, it was Lucretia's pup. "Hello, Bourbon," she purred in response. He was such a cute little dog. Well, not little. They were of a similar size. "And please, just Io." She offered a kindly grin.

Patting a patch of grass beside her, she invited the canine to pull up a seat. "What brings you so far from home?" A grey brow arched in question. She waited for him to answer, her attention fully upon him. It was odd for him to be so far from Lucretia's side. She'd been told that he was quite devoted to his mistress.

"Are you hungry? I have a bit of dried oxen and was just having a bite." She indicated the chunk between her paws, but there was more in her pack. She always took dried meats. It saved her the bother of hunting. She wasn't very good at hunting anything but rabbits and small game birds. She could use her wits to outmaneuver larger beasts like the oxen that she was now consuming, but she needed some brute strength to carry it out.