"It looks like a weird mixture of pig and dog. Like a farm pig got mixed up with a St. Bernard or something. Except for the four eyes. That's different."
The beast tilted its head toward her and blinked as if in agreement.
"I'm not sure what those animals are—a pig and a dog—but on Zyranth we have a small fluffy beast called a magoran. My parents gave me one as a pet when I was a youngling. It looked nothing like this, but the soft fur and the rumbling purr of contentment is familiar. It reminds me of happier times with my family."
"Are your parents still on Zyranth?"
Cael pulled his hands back from the beast. It snorted at him in disapproval. How had he allowed the conversation to turn to him? He needed to be careful about how much he revealed. If they were caught, he didn't want to cause more trouble for Midori by revealing he was a deposed prince.
"No. My parents have both passed into the arms of the Seven Goddesses. My mother died when I was much younger and my father . . . more recently."
"I'm so sorry. I'm an orphan, too. I know how hard it must be for you."
Cael nodded and stood. He wasn't used to so much compassion. Of course, there were compassionate people on his planet, but his family rarely expressed their emotions. More accurately, his father. Or rather, the only emotions he regularly supplied were anger and disappointment in his son. Cael's mother had been different, however. His memories of her were filled with love and laughter. Perhaps his father would have been a different sort of parent if Cael's mother had lived longer. Cael had often wondered if this was why he'd become so reckless,flitting around the galaxy and spending money like it would fill the hole inside him. It had soon become clear nothing he could buy would fill the emptiness, no matter how hard he tried.
"I should build a fire. It will be dark soon. This cave will do for now. I'll try to gather some suitable wood. Please stay in the cave with the . . . pig dog."
Midori smiled and nodded. When she stood, the beast rolled back to its feet and nuzzled her hand with its snout, demanding more attention.
The wind was bracing when Cael stepped out of the cave. The cold didn't bother him too much. His own planet was icy and cold for half of the year, other than a respite during the brief summer months. But he knew nothing about Midori's planet. She'd been shivering before, and he was certain he'd noticed a tinge of blue on her lips before they'd found the cave. Her human body needed more warmth than his, and he'd do his best to provide it.
Unfortunately, finding suitable tinder proved more difficult than Cael anticipated. The blue fir trees were sturdy and didn't seem to drop many branches in the purple snow. It took him much longer than he'd hoped to gather a double arms' worth of wood. Twilight was covering the mountainside when he returned to the cave.
A scream filled the air. Cael threw the wood to the ground and bolted for the cave.
"Pugly, no! Bad pig dog! You go outside and do that." Midori was pushing the beast out of the cave mouth as Cael entered.
"Are you all right? I heard you scream."
Midori finished pushing the creature outside and waved her hand behind it. "Oh, I'm fine. Pugly was squatting in the corner of the cave after I just finished cleaning it out."
Cael blinked once. Twice. "I'm sorry . . . what's a pugly?"
Midori laughed. "It's the name I gave him. Pugly, the ugly pig dog. So ugly, he's cute."
"I see. And Pugly . . . squatted?"
"Yes. He going to take a shit in the corner I cleaned out. Luckily, pig dog poop is round. It was easy to roll out his old scat with the makeshift broom I made, but I didn't want to smell a fresh batch in this small space."
Cael turned to see the branches Midori had tied together with a string from one of her shoes. She was ingenious. He had paid little attention to the state of the cave beforehand, but it looked cleaner than he remembered. She'd also gathered some stones and created a fire ring.
"I'm glad you're unharmed. I dropped the wood in the snow. It will take me just a few minutes to retrieve it."
"Be sure to stomp off your boots when you come in. You tracked snow inside my nice clean cave."
Cael smiled and returned outside. Pugly was there with its back to the cave, staring into the forest as if standing sentry and safeguarding the human inside.
"Good job, Pugly. You keep watch while I get the firewood."
The pig dog snuffed in agreement, as if it understood his every word.
Cael returned and shook off the snow from the gathered branches as well as from his boots. He knew Midori was being playful with him before, but she had done a lot of work cleaning their cave. He didn't want to make puddles of mess when she had tried so hard to make it neat. In a few minutes, he had the wood stacked and ready to light.
Midori stood close to him, hugging herself inside his vest. Her small chin was shaking in the cold.
"Do you have a lighter or something to start the fire?"
"I do, but this might work faster."
