Sunset Skies [AW]

The girl seemed bright, as well as respectful, and Chrystal nodded to the pup in response to the smile, settling her wings as the two wolves spoke.

Cai listened with a flashing grin as the girl – roughly six months or so, if his guess at her age was right – agreed at his remark about the sunset. There was more to that answer, he thought, but he didn’t pry, still puzzling over the lack of adult scents mingling with hers.

His introduction struck a chord with the child, and he knew, when she answered, that she wasn’t just tacking the surname onto her own in hopes of finding a safe place. There was too much trepidation in her eyes, too much hope and recognition.

And no Adravendi he knew, not even his own brother Artur in all his cold aloofness, would have left a child this young to wander alone. He tucked the sadness away—just because she was alone didn’t mean whoever it was that had sired or borne her was actually dead. It could, though, mean that they were in danger.

He twisted and nosed open the flap on one of his pouches, dipping his muzzle in and tugging a packet free, setting it on the ground between them and using a claw of one bracer to break the beeswax seal, releasing an aroma of dried meat as he opened the packet further. It was one of several packets of jerky strips he carried, bison in this case.

“Care to share dinner, Silent? It goes well with conversation and storytelling.”

Enito came around the other corner, walking on three legs, the fourth carrying a bundle of sticks and stones. The mandrill eyed the pup before setting up the foundation of a small campfire, reaching over and plucking the flint and striker from one of Cai’s other pouches. A moment after he plucked a packet from the pouch, opening it to pull fluffy wads of tinder and setting it up.

The monkey struck the stone and flint chunk together with a brisk crack and sparks flew; another strike and a healthy spark struck the tinder and smoldered, quickly nurtured and fed with twigs and gradually larger sticks as the infant flame grew into a healthy fire.

The monkey moved to sit nearby as Cairo grinned at the child, adding to his offer, “Fires also make for good storytelling atmospheres, too.”

Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think