"To end our little fun and have someone distract your partner for a moment?" he asked. "Yep, I can do that. Besides, the dogs need a break. So, where am I telling her you went?"
"To talk to Eriska," I decided. "I need to do that anyway, and it will buy me all the time I need."
"Sounds good," Lansin said, then stepped forward. "Alright! I think we all have the basic idea, and our Dragon friends have other things they need to do. Mostly stop getting hit, I think."
"Fuck off," I told him.
"Which means I'm right," Lansin said around a laugh. "So, all of you need to work with your dogs overnight. Praise, people! If you're still having trouble tomorrow, we'll start again."
"How do we teach them the gun without one?" Pepper's owner asked.
"I can help you with that," I said, gesturing for him to meet up with me. "I have things to do anyway. Ayla?"
"I need her for a minute," Lansin said, playing his part perfectly. "Go, Rymar. Thanks for being the target!"
A few others said the same, then repeated that to Xav, but Moldan was already gathering up his things and looking rather overwhelmed. When I reached his side, I took the bag of dried treats and a bowl that looked like it was for water so he could focus on the dog.
"Pepper, right?" I asked.
"Mhm," he agreed. "Stubborn little bitch." And he sighed - the sort that sounded defeated.
I turned him back toward the camp, waiting until we'd gone far enough that the rest were out of sight. Pepper lagged behind, and I couldn't miss how she kept turning around like she wasn't ready to go.
"Okay," I finally said, "Moldan, right?"
"Yes, sir," he said.
"I might have a proposition for you."
Forty-Five
Rymar
Moldan murmured like he expected to get chewed out. He didn't look excited or even interested. This man simply trod beside me like he no longer gave a shit about anything. That wasn't good. I knew he was grieving, and maybe the constant tears had stopped, but I had a feeling he was quickly sinking into something worse.
The sort of worse that made dying sound more appealing than living.
"Will you tell me if I'm out of line?" I asked, hoping for some kind of reaction from him.
"Sure," he decided.
"I'm not getting the impression you're excited about training this dog, so why are you doing it?"
Thatmade him stop hard and spin to face me. "Theykilledmypartner, Rymar. I was out with the sheep, fighting to protectthemand she..."
"I'm sorry," I said, clasping his arm. "I've lost someone too. I know how bad it hurts."
"And," he went on, his voice cracking like he was struggling not to choke up, "I didn't rush back because she had Pepper. She should've been safe! She loved that dog so much, but shelocked her inside!" He paused to suck in a shaking breath. "I can only guess she thought Pepper was going to chase a deer or something. None of us knew they'd do that, and she probably put the dumb dog inside so she wouldn't get herself killed, but instead - " He waved that off. "Sorry."
"No, I am," I told him. "And I know it hurts. It feels like a dagger that just won't stop stabbing you. What I'm trying to figure out is if you want to train that dog in your partner's memory, or if she's a cruel reminder."
"Well, we need the protection," he said. "They keep saying the more dogs we have, the sooner we'll know."
"Which is true," I agreed. "But doyouwant to be the one handling her?"
"Who else?" he asked.
Yeah, this was where I very likely was going to cross a line and piss him off. "I just noticed your dog seemed to like my partner."
