“Oh, Warrior,” Aden cooed, keeping his voice as high as he could despite its natural baritone and his overwhelming relief. He slowly eased himself down into a sitting position to appear less threatening to the small animal. “Good boy. Were you sad to see me leave?”
Warrior stared at him, baring his teeth slightly as Aden moved. The dog sniffed the air carefully, taking a half step out of the safety of the bush.
Aden did not dare to reach out toward him. This was the friendliest encounter the two had shared since the curse, and he did not want to spook the poor animal.
Leaning back against the tree, his mind finally relaxed along with his muscles.
Sensing that there was no immediate threat, Warrior dropped his back end to the ground and stared at Aden.
Aden returned the gaze, blinking occasionally but keeping the rest of his body as still as possible.
Eventually, Warrior folded his front legs as well, dropping his chin to his paws. He seemed to look up at Aden for a while longer, then closed his eyes. From the sound of his deep breathing, the tired pup had instantly fallen into a deep sleep.
Aden’s chest expanded, his eyes and nose tingling with a slight burning sensation. He wanted to reach out and stroke Warrior on the underside of his ears, just where he liked it. He contented himself with listening to the pup’s loud and even breathing. The tiny dog was snoring, louder than a grown man.
Aden closed his eyes to whisk away the moisture that had formed there, and eventually he relaxed once again into an alert sleep.
He managed to sleep until the sun was high in the sky, but his still anxious mind would not let him rest for long. The sounds of animals moving through the forest as they went about their daily activities kept his mind from fully entering a deep sleep. He awoke feeling slightly recovered, though anxious to be on his way.
Warrior stirred as soon as he stood.
“What a good boy you are, Warrior,” Aden said. He moved away from the dog and slowly, quietly continued his way through the trees. He kept the road on his left side but stayed deep enough in the trees that no traveler could hear him.
He had hardly disappeared before the dog was at his back, staying a safe distance behind him but never letting him out of sight.
For a brief moment, Aden’s blood stilled in his body. What if a hunter happened to see a giant beast walking through the forest? They would not know that it was him, and he could be shot dead.
Wouldn’t that be a relief, though? An abrupt end to this miserable curse?
An overwhelming grief flooded through him for the life that had been stolen from him. Aden realized that he desperately wanted to live.
Despite his current solitude, he did not have the luxury of processing that realization. He devoted his frazzled energy into pressing forward, Warrior at his heels.
As night fell, he moved closer to the road. The ground beneath his feet gradually got steeper, and the undergrowth thinned out. He had made it to the foothills north of Iseldis.
In the complete cover of darkness, he traveled along the road once more, working his way deeper into the mountains. When he noticed a small village in the distance, he gave it a wide berth and then found his way back to the road.
Sometime later, he came to a swing bridge suspended by a rope. The shadowy darkness illuminated nothing of the canyon at his feet, but Aden could hear rushing water far below.
Despite its fragile appearance, the bridge was wide enough for a carriage, so Aden hoped it would be enough to support his increased weight. He carefully stepped onto the wooden panels, followed by Warrior.
As the bridge gently swayed beneath their feet, Warrior yelped, dashing forward in fear.
Aden felt his heart stop as the dog disappeared into the dark. He ran after Warrior as fast as he dared across the unstable bridge.
Warrior had made it safely to the other side and was sitting on the solid ground, growling at the bridge.
“You dumb beast.” Aden sighed in relief. “You could have gotten yourself killed.”
He reached down to pet Warrior, momentarily forgetting that the dog still didn’t trust him.
Warrior slowly backed away, still growling, and Aden withdrew his hand.
The spike of energy that had coursed through his body disappeared, leaving him more exhausted than before. He needed to sleep.
He dragged his feet farther up the path, wanting to put some space between himself and the canyon before finding a secluded spot for sleep.
Some distance later, he came upon a tall stone wall separating the road from a spired mansion hidden in the wilds of the forest.
