Loren found herself chuckling, smiling fondly at the huntress. She knew Kae scarcely ate anything other than game meat she hunted for herself and Ma’trii, and even then the meat was rarely cooked with this level of sophistication. The princess let Kae eat, and turned her attention back on Cassendir.
“You mentioned that you were travelling the land to study the other kingdoms, correct?” Loren asked.
“Yes, my lady. I’ve studied all there is to know about Kespia, of course. I’ve observed the districts of Markholme, and while I have not been able to observe the court of the King and Queen of Aldoran, I’ve found books telling of the culture and history of the royal family.” Cassendir answered, his eyes shining with curiosity and a thirst for knowledge.
“Have you been to the Beastman lands yet?”
“No, not yet. I must admit, Beastmen as still strange to me.” Cassendir pulled up a chair and sat at their table. Kae continued on, oblivious. “The queen of Kespia refuses to let Beastmen into the walled city, even for refuge from the sandstorms. She finds them to be an eyesore, so they huddle in camps outside the walls to trade. Their tents aren’t enough to weather the sandstorms most times, so many in the outer camps die with their flesh ripped off their bones by the razor sands.” The scholar’s tone was conversational, stating gruesome Beastman death as a matter of life, something that happened all the time.
Loren couldn’t help but frown at the thought. “That’s horrible. No one deserves that fate.”
“The queen of Kespia doesn’t seem to care, unfortunately. Why did you ask, my lady?”
Kae pushed Loren’s plate of bacon and eggs towards the princess, and interrupted the two, speaking around a mouthful of bread. “Princess, you better eat that before I eat it for you.” She mumbled.
Loren smiled and pulled the plate closer to her, and began picking at the bacon with a fork. “I believe mine and this huntress’s journey will take us closer to the Beastman lands, the Garruchian Plains and beyond towards Rhodia. Since we’re headed there and you have not explored that area yet, I was going to suggest you come with us.”
Cassendir’s eyes widened at the prospect of adventure and companionship. At the very least, he wouldn’t need to travel alone. The scholar was quite horrible at directions, and was more likely to end up back home in Kespia than finding his way through the tall grasses of the plains to Rhodia. Cassendir nodded eagerly, pulling up a chair to sit with the girls. “I’d be honored, my lady.”
Loren smiled. “Please, just Loren. I don’t really want anyone to know who I am.”
“Why not?”
“That’s a sensitive issue.”
“If anyone know where she ran off to, the guards are gonna make her go home.” Kae said, her words mangled by the mouthful of food.
Cassendir’s mouth formed an ‘oh’. He nodded and dropped the issue. He let the two finish their breakfast, and waited for them to get ready. His own horse was tied to the hitching post outside of the inn. With Loren’s permission, the scholar went out to retrieve his horse. As he stepped out of the inn, he came face to face with a large wolf.
He froze in his tracks, staring wide-eyed into the wolf’s amber eyes. “Hello there.” He stammered, terrified. He pitched forward as Kae slapped his back, throwing him off balance and landing face first in the dirt. He looked up, and the wolf was sniffing his hair.
“Calm down, Cassendir.” Kae said, sucking on her teeth. “That’s just Ma’trii. He’s my friend, and he’s coming with us.” She scratched Ma’trii behind the ears. She slipped him some bits of bacon that she had put between a folded slice of bread. “Good morning. Did you eat? I saved this for you.”
Cassendir scrambled up, watching in shock as Kae so casually patted Ma’trii and talked to him. He reached for his large book and opened it, taking a pencil that he had tucked into its pages and started scribbling down notes on this strange interaction between a human and a feral wolf.
“He’s not technically a feral.” Loren said helpfully, leaning over Cassendir’s arm to read his notes. “Ma’trii’s a rare type of Beastman born in a feral’s body. He’s very smart, and can understand all our words. And he has feelings, be careful you don’t hurt them.”
The scholar frowned, his pencil slowing. “His feelings? What would happen if his feelings get hurt?”
Loren chuckled, and went off to retrieve their horses. “You’ll have to answer to Kae, of course. That’s a fate worse than being bitten by the wolf.”
While Cassendir held onto the reins of their horses, Loren fished out the carved wooden bird from her pack. She held the toy out for Ma’trii to sniff. “Ma’trii, can you find Kaiten with this?”
The wolf sniffed the toy, then Loren’s hand, then the toy again. He turned his intelligent amber eyes up to Loren and nodded once. He set off down the Imperial Highway, nose to the ground and sniffing to pick up the trail.
“That does it.” Kae muttered as she attempted to get into the saddle again. “He’s going to keep sniffing till he finds the trail. Now I have to remind him to eat and rest before he gets a lungful of dirt.”
Cassendir raised a brow as he watched Kae’s efforts. He was already mounted, and lightly flicked the reins to move his horse closer to Kae’s. “Do you need help?”
“No, go away.” Kae grumbled, trying again. She managed to get one foot into the saddle and tried to fling herself onto the horse’s back. The horse bucked, flinging the huntress onto its back with a loud
