A Quick Nap

A chuckle huffed in his chest as she assured him that he hadn’t disturbed her, nodding in agreement at her observation. He didn’t have an extra cloak with him, or he might have offered it, and he didn’t miss the trailing glance she gave the baskets. Definitely hungry.

Her timid request came as no surprise, and Cairo smiled gently. “I don’t see why not.”

He twisted around, nosing under the baskets instead to dig his muzzle into the pouch beneath them. The freshly preserved shark meat was for the pack, but the packet, one of several tucked away, contained his personal travelling food, which he was free to use however he wished, whether it was to cook it, or share it with a fellow traveler along the way.

He dropped the packet between them at his paws, using the sharpened bear claw of his middle toe on the right paw to break the beeswax seal and hook out several strips of bison jerky, nudging them to the woman. “I’m Cairo Adravendi, Sentinel – or Beta, if you will – of Valhalla. It’s a pack in the west of this continent, Boreas.”

His tone was comfortable, by now accustomed to the pronouncement of his rank, but not at all arrogant or conceited. It had taken months for him to adjust to the honor he’d worked so hard to achieve, and had thought still so far ahead of him. He hadn’t expected to rise so far until he was at least six. It was an achievement he hadn’t been able to share with Malalia, but that day would come eventually.

At some point, maybe Caelia would join him as a Beta, taking the Lodestar rank. She’d lagged behind in training, her reserved nature seemingly inhibiting her path. He could only hope that his sister would find her way again.

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