"I love her so much," I told him. "I didn't even know what love was until I got her, and now I worry about her all the time! I also know this is what she loves, so I don't hold her back."
"Good," he said. "Some people try to baby their dogs, and that just makes them stressed in a different way. They'll become destructive, chewing things, and it's not good for anyone."
"That's what the books said too," I agreed. "Kanik got me some, and we read everything we could find about dogs."
"Not all of it applies," he warned. "Just use what feels right and ignore the rest. Dogs are like kids that way. Just because most do things one way doesn't mean yours will."
"But she knows the whistles, right?" I asked.
He gave me a confused look. "Yeah? We train all of the ones here for it. Keeps them from chasing the wrong thing, and just makes life easier. Why?"
"Can I learn?" I asked. "I don't know where you get the whistles either, but I'd like to be able to do that in combat. I always worry she'll run out when we need to stay hidden, or she'll come to me at the wrong time. This would help."
"I have plenty of whistles," he said. "I'll give you a few. You know, so the guys have one too. If you want, you can come back to my cabin, and I'll give you a list of the commands too."
I made a face. "I still have to feed her."
"I do have food for dogs," he pointed out.
Which made his offer sound even better. "Okay. I just don't know what I'm supposed to be doing, Lansin. Rymar and Zasen are gone, which usually means busy. This isn't like Lorsa, so I feel like I'm being lazy."
"You're not," he assured me. "The seriously wounded were just sent to Lorsa with Irrik. He wants to meet his son. Some of your militia went that way too, along with that guy you saved."
"Sylis?"
"Yes, him," he said. "Zasen is likely talking to the medics, making arrangements for how to handle things now that your doctors headed back. Rymar was up with Eriska all night. I don't know about Kanik."
"He's still sleeping," I told him. "He's supposed to be on light duty after his injury, but he refused to stay home."
"Can't say that I blame him," Lansin said as Holly and Shadow trotted out of the trees, headed straight for us. "I also heard it was bad - and thatyousaved him." Then he gestured to the side, showing me where we were going next.
"Actually," I admitted, "Holly did. She tracked his scent and found him hidden in the forest. She also dragged him back."
"Way I heard it, you did a lot of that dragging too, along with some healing, and a whole lot of not giving up."
"Yeah," I mumbled. "I didn't want to lose him."
He reached over and rubbed my shoulder. "I know."
Then we reached a cabin different from the one I was staying in. Not the house part, but everything around it. There were smaller structures built with short walls around them. Inside those walls were dogs.Lotsof dogs, and quite a few of them were small.
"Welcome to my kennels," he said, gesturing to it all. "This is where Holly was born."
"Are those puppies?" I asked.
He pointed at one of the tiny house-looking things. "Go in that one. The mother is named Star, and she has brand-new puppies. They're four days old now, still have their eyes closed, and aren't even walking. Yes, you can pick them up. I'll get food for everyone."
I headed over, looking at the gate that would let me in, and made sure it was closed behind me. I'd never seen a puppy before, but the moment the mother dog saw me, she came out of the dog-sized house and hurried over for some attention.
"Hi, Star," I said, crouching down so she could sniff me all over. "You're a pretty dog, aren't you?"
Her coat was white and red, covered in big spots of both. While her shape was a lot like Holly's, she was actually a smaller animal, but wider across the shoulders. She also loved theattention. But inside her little house, something was squeaking in the most adorable way.
"Can I see?" I asked, heading over.
Her tail wagged as she slipped in, then came back out. So, deciding to be brave, I knelt down and looked. There, sprawled on an old blanket, were a bunch of the smallest dogs I'd ever seen. Like human children, their bodies weren't in the right proportions yet, and as much as I loved Holly, these might actually be cuter.
So I picked up the closest. It was spotted like the mother, but black and white instead of red and white. The little thing had a fat belly and grunted like it had eaten too much. And when I cuddled it close, the puppy tried to suck on the end of my finger.
