Night had since fallen. The skies hadn’t cleared up, so the moon was hidden behind a thin layer of clouds. Alisson could hear a distant thunderstorm, and the wind blew gently at his face. He had told the peculiar dog-girl his intentions of going to the tunnel that supposed connected Sabasa to Andestine, and to collapse it. She had nodded, and had been leading the way, pointing down which roads to go to get there.

  Alisson saw that as the hours passed, her hand began to shake as she held it up, her fingers no longer straight but curled. Eventually, he could feel her shivering in front of her on the horse. It wasn’t that cold out, so her exhaustion probably stemmed from mental fatigue. He put a hand on her shoulder, and her body tensed.

  “You should rest for the night. I’ll watch over you.” He said gently to her, and of course, she didn’t respond.

  They found a tenable thicket to dismount, tethering the horse to a nearby tree. The food Alisson had found did not need to be cooked, so starting a fire would only serve to give away their position.

  As they both sat against a large, downed tree Alisson took off his backpack, and offered her food.

  She stared at the grain in her hands, frowning. “…Meat.”

  Alisson’s eyes widened as he heard her say that. Her voice was in a hushed tone, not quite whispering, but very quiet, and weak.

  “I want meat.” She finished her thought.

  Alisson broke into a smile. She could probably smell the dried meat that Alisson had pilfered from the village. “So, you do speak.”

  He indulged her, and figured that if she was going to eat meat, he may as well cook it. He started a small fire and roasted some of the strips for a while. Once cooked, he handed her a strip. Instead of taking them from his hands, she leaned in closer and opened her mouth. He could see her salivating. She ate the food directly from his hand.

  Alisson smiled guiltily. He was about to make a snide remark about how dog-like the girl was, but then realized that may be a little stupid of him to say. She seemed to have an aversion to using her hands if she could grab something with her teeth.

  “When I asked you of your name early, you only pointed to your backpack…What is it that you carry?”

  Alisson asked as she chewed. She didn’t respond, and only took off her backpack, sliding it to Alisson.

  Taking it as permission to peruse her belongings, Alisson opened it, and found several books within. He deployed a dull mage light and examined them. He realized that these were works of history. Some of it was written in Sidonian oddly enough, but most was written in a language he couldn’t read. The king must’ve given his daughter these books and told her to escape, as a last hope to keep the memory of Sabasa alive.

  “This doesn’t answer my question…” Alisson closed the book, and looked to the girl.

  She opened her hands at Alisson, wanting the book. Alisson gave it to her. She stared at it for a long moment, before tossing it into the fire.

  “W-wait!”

  Alisson quickly reached into the fire and pulled the singed book out of it. He looked to her, and she averted her gaze with a blank impression. He sighed, and laid the book down.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  “I understand how you feel…Your country may be gone now, but that doesn’t make this information any less valuable; if not to you, then to the scholars of the future. Those Andestinians will no doubt burn all knowledge of this land. If you don’t want it, then I’ll take it back to the mainland’s libraries.”

  Alisson stared into the fire for a moment before dousing it. He heard the winds blow and another distant strike of thunder strike the lands.

  “…Daschtundt.”

  He heard her say quietly again. “Your name is Daschtundt?” She nodded, and Alisson broke into a small smile. “It’s elegant, but strong. It’s a bit of a mouthful, isn’t it?” He thought for a moment, “Can I call you Dascha?”

  She looked to Alisson, and her tail began to sway. He took that as a yes.

  They sat in silence for a long while. “You don’t have anywhere to go, do you?”

  Alisson asked. Dascha didn’t respond, and only stared at him for a moment. She then slowly crawled toward him. He already knew she was about to get very touchy, and mentally braced himself.

  She straddled him, and pushed her body against his chest, looking up at him. If he were to wager, this was her way of begging. Again, she gave a few licks at his neck.

  “…Smell…” She started in that quiet tone of hers, “…You smell like my mate.”

  His face blushed red. So that’s what she saw in him. He then realized what exactly she was doing when she was pushing herself against him, grinding on him like that over and over. Before he could respond, she said one last thing.

  “…Owner.”

  Alisson swallowed heavily, looking down at her. Dascha met his gaze with her large guileless eyes. He didn’t know how to react, and thought for a long moment.

  Alisson knew that he had come here partly to find an ally in the Sabasa, but he had been thinking of the entire people as an ally, or at the very least, a combat hardened brigade. This was…this was certainly different, something more personal. Alisson hadn’t read the history that she had with her – Perhaps Sabasa were prone to imprinting on people like this. Thinking along that line of reasoning, and remembering the old monicker that dogs could tell who was good and who wasn’t, Alisson felt a little proud to be chosen like this.

  At the same time, was it not wrong to capitalize on these circumstances, and monopolize what could be the sole survivor of an entire species as his own?

  Dascha’s intentions were clear. He saw numerous things in those eyes of hers. Chiefly among them, loyalty. Alisson sighed. He supposed it couldn’t be helped. Just what was he supposed to do, turn her away?

  He rose a hand and laid it on her head, petting her.

  Dascha’s tail wagged quickly, which made Alisson smirk again.

  “I accept your fealty. I hope you don’t go bowing to everyone you meet…”

  She shook her head.

  He pet her more, scratching behind her ears, which made her tail swish wildly. To avoid making her pounce on him again, he stopped his pettings.

  “Sleep. I’ll keep watch. I’ll wake you up come the sunrise.”

  She frowned at him. He suddenly felt guilty. He just simply didn’t trust her enough to actually sleep in turns like he normally did with Celis.

  “Just rest. You need it more than I do.”

  She reluctantly submitted, and began to make herself comfortable on top of him.

  “I would prefer you not sleep on me…”

  She looked up at him for a moment before crawling off his body. She cuddled up by his side instead, resting her head in the cradle of his shoulder. She was asleep within minutes, her chest bobbing up at down.

  Alisson looked up at the sky, hearing the winds and the distant thunder again. The last time he had tried taking someone in, so closely, so quickly, they hadn’t made it out of Freigat. He looked down to Dascha. As amiable as she was, her survival would depend on her own skills, her own fortitude. Alisson couldn’t fall into the trap of babysitting someone weak. This wasn’t a toy like Celis’s lamia. This was a dog. A loyal companion.

  Having the time to think made him remember the second reason why he had wanted to come to Sabasa. Slimes. He would have to ask Dascha if she knew anything about them.

  The night was so empty of chatter. Just wind, thunder, and the occasional cricket or insect. The lack of birds and howls of beasts sat wrong with Alisson. It was like him and Dascha were the only living things on the whole island, and that the Andestinian ‘Monolithians’ were inhuman specters sent to kill them.

  He wondered what Celis was up to. Marenix was probably being trained to the bone by Lady Salchyon. All he could hope for was that everything was normal back in the homeland.

  ***