"What?" I looked down at myself. “I’m wearing what you chose, including the coat. Did I miss something?” I dropped the bags and went back to the dressing room, looking to see if anything was left on the bench or the floor.
As I returned, he shook his coat out and slipped it on easily. "We need to get you some better boots, gloves, hats and a nice scarf. As much as I would hate to cover you more, you will need these things. Possibly a nice backpack for the both of us."
As warm as I was in the shop, I knew going outside for any extended period of time would be painfully cold. "Would you like to pick out whatever you think we need to speed things up?"
He nodded and walked around a few racks, picking out fur lined boots and gloves, a woven scarf, a knit hat and then two rather durable looking backpacks. He nodded to Ida who returned the gesture before he brought the items to me. "I believe you will find these suitable.”
I slipped on the new gear, pulling up the fur lining of the collar of my coat around my cheeks with a smile. Finally, wrapping the striped scarf around my neck, I slid my hands down my sides and did a spin. "How do I look?"
He looked me over with an expression of approval. "Like you are bundled up and can hardly walk, yet really warm. Do you need anything to eat or drink before we set out?"
My lips purse in disapproval of his response. “Nice. Thanks.” I moved toward the door, almost in defiance to show him that I could walk just fine. "How far is the journey? I mean, I ate and drank in the tavern. Will this take so long that I should again so soon? And will there be stuff to eat and drink at your... castle?" I grabbed up one of the backpacks, worried we were about to hike for a longer distance than I could manage.
He followed, pulling the other backpack on that was filled with my new clothing. "There will be, of course. I am just making sure you will be okay." He shoved a water canteen in my pack anyway and some dried jerky, both from a shelf near the door. I struggled to put the straps on over my sleeves, and he had to tug them over for me. "Shall we?"
I said nothing, biting my tongue hard so as not to spout out with something snarky. After all, he was seemingly trying to be kind. I just didn’t understand why he even cared to do all of this for me.
After thanking Ida, we left the shop. Kane walked me through the town’s courtyard where four ice sculptures stood, towering over the scenic park area below them in the center of Nirevale. He put a hand on my lower back and pointed to them. “Each of them is a dedication to the animal gods the Doshanesh worship. Carved as high as six story buildings, each in front of their respective lodges of worship, the cold keeps them preserved. They have not melted in the thousand years they have stood.”
I walked to the middle of the courtyard and spun, taking each sculpture and their temples in. “Animal gods? Are these not the same gods you worship?”
Kane shook his head, looking up toward the sky. “I worship no god.”
“You don’t believe in a god?” I walked back over to him.
His gaze remained upward. “Gods are real. My world has many. Some newer. Some we call the elder gods. But I worship none of them.”
Seeing some sadness in his face, I slipped my hand into his. I did so without thinking of what I was doing until it was done. “What happened?”
He broke his gaze and looked down to me, glancing at our clasped hands before speaking. “A story for another time, little one.”
I tugged on his hand, smiling as he surprisingly wrapped his fingers around mine in response. I thought he would pull away from me, but when he didn’t, I continued, “Tell me about these ones and why the Doshanesh worship them out of all of the others?”
He sighed. “Alright. All four are elder gods. The oldest of the creatures of our world were created in their likeness and called by the same. Those that worship these gods also worship the Naelyrian versions of them as well. The one to the north is Boeyrn. It is said he is strength.” He moved to point toward the East. “Lyviun represents pride. Faxorum is cunning and adaptation. And Ouneas is watchfulness.” He motioned to each one in the circle. “Legend has it that each of these gods sat in each of these directions while the Doshanesh built this city, protecting them from other races that might challenge them, giving them the strength, pride, adaptation and watchfulness they needed to grow as a people.”
I looked upon the statues with awe.
Kane put his free hand on my shoulder. “What is it, little one?”
I smiled at him, wistfulness in my eyes. “Boeyrn looks like our bears. Lyvium looks like our lions. Faxorum our foxes. And Ouneas like our owls. Four of thousands of species of animals on my planet. It’s so inspiring to see them revered like this.”
“They are gods. Of course they are revered,” he replied, confused.
I nodded. “Yes. Here they are. But they are not on my world. They are food or pets. Humans see themselves as so much better than any animal.” I looked down. “Humans see themselves as above all others. And that includes each other.”
“This is not the case here. Humans are food
