Kael fidgeted, anxious to see just what would come of the meeting, a young man with neatly trimmed hair. His father stood before him, taking the lead in the meeting, though it was the first time he had ever been allowed to stand so close to the anthro ambassador of their closest neighbours, a chameleon with a particularly noble look about his strangely rounded face. Long robes fell to the floor around his ankles and he tried not to make it too obvious just how uncomfortable he was in them, for they were ceremonial and not his everyday wear.

“Good sir, we are honoured to be invited once again into your kingdom,” the chameleon, who went by the name of Lord Jevish in the human lands in keeping with custom and traditions after the war, said slowly. “I’m afraid I cannot fathom just what this meeting is concerning, however, for our trade agreements were set out just the past month gone. To what do I owe the pleasure today of your audience and presence?”

Ah, he was nervous. That was clear to see even to someone as inexperienced as Kael, not yet trained in the act and art of diplomacy, though he did not have that much interest in that sort of thing. It stood out, however, even if he knew just why his father was conducting the meeting in person rather than sending one of the dog servants to take care of it for him. For it was something very important to him, perhaps more so to Kael than it ever would have been to his father and mother, though it had implications that stretched far beyond the everyday life that he was used to at that time.

Lord Jevish stood with his hands clasped, though Kale knew that some anthros preferred to refer to them as “paws” or “claws”, depending on their species. Having dog servants, the anthros that were native only to their human lands, with them, they’d always just called them “hands” as went things with the human tongue, but it was important to remember what other cultures took in hand, so to speak.

“Yes, it is most unorthodox that I have called you here today,” his father said, his booming tone seeming to resonate up from deep within his chest. “But this is important business, new business. Quite simply, my son wishes to attend one of your magic universities, as his skills, home-trained, of course, have grown over recent years. He wishes to study with the best of the best and I only wish to see him at your most prestigious establishment, where his training may progress and bring the art of magic to our lands too.”

Lord Jevish took a half-step back, though the tiny shift of relief in the relaxing of his shoulders was something that Kael could not help but note. If he had not wanted to learn magic so badly, his fingers, quite literally, itching and twitching to work, he would have been best suited to politics and diplomacy where it concerned the anthro lands, he was sure, for he had spent any time that had not been pouring over magical texts (what he had been able to acquire, that was) studying them from head to toe...or paw, as it was. But his heart was set, sweating minutely as his torso tipped forward, giving away his desire and yet not seeing any reason to hold it back either, not in a moment like that. It was simply too important to him that he was allowed to go.

“I see, my lord, that is good news indeed.”

Lord Jevish was clearly relieved that things were heading in a more positive direction but, still, there were details to be discussed. With a lift of his hand, Kael’s father called his attention.

“Kael? You may leave now.”

He bristled. He wanted to know what was going to be said! Yet his presence was simply not required now that Lord Jevish had seen him and knew what was to come of the meeting. He was there merely, for that temporary span of time, as a diplomatic feature, his father continuing on the meeting without him.

Sir Jevish’s mind raced. A human attending university in one of their nations would help move relations in a more positive direction, for sure, for they could never be quite certain just what it was that the humans intended to do with them, considering how their invasion had commenced after, well, the anthros had invaded them. Who could have known just what may have happened twenty years back if they had never invaded the human lands to begin with, how things could have turned out? As it had been shown, the skills of the humans in their psychic ability, like magic but not in their sense of intellect, and the weapons they created far surpassed the bounds of their magical defences. Keeping the humans on their good side, when no one, after all, wanted to lance into a second war, was imperative at the best and the worst of times.

Learning more about humans would bring them into better stead too but it had to be handled delicately, in his control and not that of Harrod, the human that he only knew by his last name. Harrod had never deigned to give his first, though the honorific imposed on Lord Jevish was merely symbolic, something that they both knew was surpassed by his diplomatic status as a politician in the human world. The lands prospered because of people like him but it was, at times, such a foreign concept to those in the anthro lands that they hardly knew where to begin when it came to gaining at least some scant understanding of humans and what they were all about in that regard.

One step, however, in the right direction was one step of the beginning of that.

“I will take care of the arrangements,” Lord Jevish said, drawing himself up as tall as he could, though he was still shorter than Harrod. “Leave it to me. But, of course, what I would need to know upfront is of any requirements your son has in his studies, so that we can best meet his needs and training.”

Harrod smiled but it was not a soft smile.

“Excellent. I will have one in particular to take note of...”

And it was that requirement for Kael’s future that would change things for Kael and human-anthro relations forever even if it was never intended to do so

“What did they say then? I don’t know why you didn’t let me stay – I was already there!”

Kael paced and flung up his hands, though that was merely a symptom of his body expelling frustration: something like that could not be helped. When he had no need to reign in his emotions, he let them run freely, even as his father and his mother stood before him in more casual clothes, though she still wore skirts that draped to the ground and his trousers were loose folds of cloth that boasted at the fact that their family could simply afford that much quality.

“Of course. The deal has been set, son, we only needed to ensure that the proper requirements would be set in place for you.”

Kael, however, barely heard that as he leapt and punched the air, his heart surging. Finally, he was going to see the anthro lands, study magic, do all that he had spent years coveting without ever truly being sure that he would be allowed to achieve! His parents smiled, Samuel Harrod and Evelin Harrod, though their name would be passed through the anthro lands from anthro to anthro, from mouth to mouth, as news of his approaching studies in their counties spread and spread. Gossip, after all, travelled quickly, even though it was something far more important than that.

He’d never seen either his homeland or the anthro lands, growing up in the territories that they had conquered in the war, though there were some remnants of the anthro history there. Magic, however, expired, so unless it was infused to last, sadly much of their architecture crumbled without magic to sustain it when that was something that humans were not interested in. Why rebuild what had fallen when they could create better with their technology? But it had been in the ruins of a splendid castle that he had found remnants of the anthros, the very first and most important relics that had fuelled his desire to learn magic. His curiosity was not something that could so easily be tamed, however, and times had changed, delving deeper and deeper into the books while he honed his magical skill. Some of the texts had had to be translated before he’d been able to read them fluently but that skill too had grown over time: magic was all about skill.

Whereas human psychic ability was intuitive, magic was something that had to be trained and practised, something that anyone, frankly, could do if they had enough time and inclination to push themselves towards it, more and more. Basic magic had come with difficulty to him without a proper tutor but Kael had still managed it, bolstered by his progress to such a point that, ultimately, he had come to that very moment where he had asked his parents to help him move into a magic university in the anthro lands. It would be the biggest step of his young life to date but the most important one also to take his future forward and out into the wide world.

“Whereas we do not understand why you would want to learn this magic,” his father said, gently bringing him back to reality with his hand on Kael’s shoulder, “you should know that we support you, son. Going off into a controlled environment such as this for your studies will give you greater world experience without risking you. These are less than tumultuous times that we live in and I would rather see you study than go on tour with other youths...”

His father’s lips twisted a little and his mother giggled, bringing a rise of a flush to Kael’s cheeks.

“Father... I don’t want to hear about what happened on your tour when you were my age... You know I have no interest in that. All I want to do is to learn magic.”

“Yes, yes, we know this, though to interact with the “lesser” races in such a fashion...” His father’s lips pursed, neatly trimmed beard struck through with a hint of grey. “Well, that is for you to decide what you make of them. This is to make you happy and improve our relationship, though that is not something to concern yourself with, as long as you continue to conduct your dealings in the world with dignity and diplomacy.”

“As you are surely still wise beyond your years, sweet Kael,” his mother interjected, her brown eyes soft and warm, “I cannot see that this would ever be an issue. Oh, but son... Son, we are going to miss you so dearly.”

His eyes pricked with tears, yet there was no time for emotion while his father held up his hand.

“One requirement, of course, has already been put in place. You will take a personal dog with you also to act as your bodyguard and your servant.”

A small thing. A normal thing – to humans, at least. Yet one more link in the chain that would change things forever as he smiled and accepted, for it was nothing to Kael.

He was well as he was and, soon, he would be even better.

Kael did not know what to expect when he was taken to the training facility for the dog anthros that were native to their lands and, of course, their homeland too. The training facility was set on the edge of the mountains to have good access to more rugged terrain, which their human guide (he’d missed their name as he showed them around the facility) had said was perfect for attaining peak physical fitness.

“They are a kind, of course, that need to be challenged,” he explained, sweeping his hand out to an obstacle course that appeared like something that the military-trained canines would have undertaken. “They are not like us in that they can tap into any psychic ability.”

Of course, humans did not walk very often unless it was to make a point. At that very moment, all three members of the Harrod family were floating in the air, their feet a comfortable few inches from the ground as was customary. Why walk when one could float, after all? Maybe it was a type of magic to them, but such innate psychic powers that grew naturally with a person were distinctly different to magic and would never, truly, be the same, no matter how some did so like to compare them. 

Either way, it stood out to them that the dogs did not float. Maybe that was why they were dogs, their faithful, loyal companions that were always there for them, though it was, absolutely, considered of the highest honour amongst dogs to serve humans. That they wanted to serve and be faithful went without saying, the dogs choosing which sectors that they wished to serve and work in, however they were best suited. Unless they had become tied or adopted by a human family, they could change where they worked pretty much at will wherever there was an opening. With their innate loyalty, however, they tended to stay where they were put, working hard and diligently to the very best of their ability. The bonds that tied, after all, went both ways and not merely from dog to human.

They trained and Kale gulped as he watched some particularly fit female canines shooting arrows at targets. They took a much greater distance than he did when he was practising shooting for fun, the nock of the arrows slipping into place precluding the hiss of them flying forth. It was not firing or shooting but, alas, yet another term that had slipped into a neat form of defence that had served them well at a distance in the war. Their guns and the like, however, were more threatening still but it was imperative that defence and offence covered all bases still. If there was one thing that the humans were, it was that they were prepared.

There was more set out for them, muddy drills putting them through their paces, though Kael suspected that those were some of the newest recruits, not the graduated dogs that he was there to see. They were working hard, clad in rough shades of green and brown, blending in, though they had not yet learned to stand out. One turned to look at him, a bulky Rottweiler of some breeding, and got a mouthful of mud for his trouble.

The dining facilities were of no interest to him, not as much as the dogs moving freely within. However, he did start as they exited the interior to an outdoor area where showers had been set up next to bathing pools that looked like several moderate-sized swimming pools set up near one another, their curves and undulations making them appear to fit there quite naturally with a walkway still available between each one. 

Kael started, the heat of a blush that he should not have felt creeping up his neck. It was wrong, oh so very wrong, but it was right too, for the dogs before him were all entirely naked. Well, there were a couple just walking in after training that were still mostly dressed but he couldn’t focus on that, not when his eyes roamed from one set of breasts to the other, even guiltily dipping between their thighs to the secret that lay there. That he was a virgin was neither expected nor unexpected for a man of his age, though it was not as if he had not had the chance to enjoy himself in that way before. It was more that no one, as yet, had caught his eye in that regard.

No one, except for the dogs, that was.

“These are the canines that have graduated training,” their guide said, sweeping his arm out in a grand, sweeping gesture as if he wanted them to be impressed in that moment. “I’m sure you will be able to see, with your keen eye, that they are all top specimens and, frankly, none that are not quality and set to our high standards finish our training program. They go into less strenuous roles, of course, but all find their place in the world so that they have a family or an individual to serve.”

Kael tried not to look too hard but it was hard not to stare, even though his parents and their guide didn’t see anything wrong with that. When they were another species entirely to humans, there simply was nothing that attracted humans to them in the first place, comfortable with one another in that regard while nothing could happen between them. Kael sweated. Or could it?

It was not against the law, of course, but it was frowned upon seriously, as if a person who looked at other species, including the anthros in other lands, had something wrong with them. Could they not see, after all, the beauty in the human species too? Why would they need to go elsewhere? In his searching, listening to others in passing speak of it, he’d gleaned only little and not enough to satisfy his curiosity even in the slightest. 

But with them all right there before him, showering off in the communal line of showers, water soaking their fur, splashing down their muzzles... He could not take his eyes away. It was impossible for his eyes to be elsewhere, especially as their guide told them to line up in a tone that neither carried a suggestion or a command but simply something that was expected from them. They knew their place in the world and, truth be told, they would not be as good at their roles in life as they were and so honoured to serve if they had not enjoyed and thrown themselves whole-heartedly into all that they did.

“They are our finest and all ready to leave the academy. Trained against magical and non-magical, physical combat, they are experts in self-defence and, if need be, offence. All modern weapons have been trained and some that may be unexpected, so that they may be best prepared at all times. All are licensed in what they have achieved accreditation in and have the proper documents attached.”

It was not unusual to hear dogs talked about in that way, all very normal for them, and the canines did not seem perturbed in the slightest. Split more or less evenly between the males and the females, they stood to attention, some with smiles and others with serious expressions, though Kael did not yet know enough about canines to tell what they were thinking, what any more intricate expression meant. Maybe he would in time.

“Well then, son?” His father clapped him on the shoulder, for he was giving him a gift of sorts. “Which one do you like the look of the most? Do you have a form with their credentials against one another?”

“Sir, I assure you that every one of these dogs has been trained to the highest of standards...”

Seeing the expression on his father’s face, Kael smirked, the guide stuttering to a halt. Oh, it was funny how they bowed to his father so easily but that was another little trick that his father, at the very least, had given him too. Maybe it would come in useful in later years or even when he was away, though it was more appropriate for those in his father’s station in life than him as yet. Still, he appreciated how quickly the guide raced off, floating at quite a pace to get the requested forms.

It left him free to rub his chin and look them all over in turn, considering them each individually. He should have been more objective in looking the dogs over, perhaps going by which of them had the most muscle or were most like the typical canines used for guarding, but he eyed up the females the most. He could not quite refer to them as “bitches” in his head, even if that was the technical term, looking at them far too intimately for something like that to feel as if it fit at all.

“Maybe this one... Can I, uh, see her stats?”

The guide was back by then but he barely looked over the sheet before moving on. No, he had to see more, had to really think about his choice, which dog would stay with him. If she was to defend him, he needed someone strong. He would need her to be tall too, intimidating, a breed that made others back off...

Kael shook his head minutely. Oh, as if he had not known.

So I’m getting a female...

It probably went without saying, with his curious attraction, the heat tingling through him, that it would not be a male that he ended up with, though he still tried to put on something of a show of looking them all over equally. He knew without truly knowing which one he had picked when his eyes kept returning to a tall German Shepherd that was even taller than he was. Her large chest was a little closer to eye level for him, which could have been a factor in his decision, her arms rounded out with muscle even through her fur, clearly, by far, the strongest female in the line-up. She would be a good choice, if he did not go for a male, but it was her bust that most likely swayed the deal for him.

“Her.”

He pursed his lips, rocking back on his heels as if he was considering his decision. In fact, his heart was beating so hard that he knew that his decision had already been made.

“This is my choice.”

He only hoped as he hid his sweaty palms in his pockets that they did not realise why he’d stared at her so much, that there was something twisting in the pit of his belly that he’d tried to push down for years already. 

“Yes, you do seem to have quite the eye for her... A good choice, son. Tall, muscular, intimidating. There will be no one there that will bother you with her to guard you.”

They did not give him her name, though he found out later, on the ride home with a collar around her neck, that her name was Giselle. It was a name that rolled off the tongue as if it didn’t want to be there, bravely and daringly leaping forth into the world. Maybe that was indicative of how she would be in the future with him and he could only hope that he had not allowed his attraction to sway him too much, for he did, actually, need a bodyguard when things changed, studying away for the very first time in his life.

It would be a change like no other as he got used to her, running her through her paces as the days passed. She was a servant to him too and not simply a bodyguard, though it felt strange for him to ask her, rather than merely ordering, to carry his books and scrolls to his desk. Humans expended so little energy, except when they wanted to, though it was something that he had not understood, even as he followed right along with their ways because it was what they had always done. Everything followed a pattern and the expectations of culture and anyone that diverged from that was drawn attention to in a negative light time after time again. He’d seen it happen and, truly, that was not a path that he wanted to walk.

Yet why then did he watch his new dog servant so intently, breath caught in his throat? He wanted to see more of her even if it would have been very strange indeed to ask her to take off her clothes. He felt as if he should be more respectful to her than norms dictated, something that desperately did not make sense to him. Kael was aware that there were some humans that had their servants bathe them but surely that was something for the ultimately socially elite, not so much the working elite like his family?

He did not know, not having any frame of reference by which he could at all explain why the sway of her hips and her thickly fluffy tail drew his attention so easily over and over again. He caught himself watching her while she cleaned his private quarters and not in the way that his mind wanted her to, much to his shameful embarrassment.

“Sir, why are you blushing?”

He gulped and shook his head, brushing his fingers back through his hair as he pretended to be frowning over a scroll once again. He’d seen it many times over even if he did not yet know the words off by heart. It was enough to pretend that he had been concentrating, however, and not staring at the canine, Giselle pausing with that distinctive canine tilt to her head. She only wanted to serve and to assist him and, in her eyes, there had to be something wrong for him to be uncomfortable, surely?

“No, no... Don’t worry about it.”

He’d been a little surprised that she was able to converse so eloquently but felt silly afterwards for assuming that there would be any difference in intelligence between them. Of course, canines had certain personality traits that went with their species but it was not that they were slaves at all but devoted to servitude, something in their natures linking them to humans inexplicably. As far back as records stretched, tales of their loyal, loving demeanours were inscribed, their protective natures beyond anything that had ever been seen in other humans or even anthros – though those still required more research again, he was sure. But to think that she had been able to match up to him on issues in the world and speak about her favourite foods as he got to know her more and more... Well, it was a perk that he could not have expected.

Giselle surprised him – and not just in how she held and presented herself. She was more useful to him than he could have imagined, though his parents would never have bought a servant for him under any other circumstances, he was certain. It was a luxury that he did not really need, even if he appreciated what she was doing for him, every last little bit of it. Whatever his needs were, she was by his side, a cup of herbal tea at his elbow, ready for him before he’d even wondered if he was becoming thirsty or not.

“Here you go, sir.”

“Giselle...” Kael said, sitting back and sipping at the hot beverage, wincing as it burned his tongue. “Are you happy here? Is there anything that you need too?”

It was a strange question to ask a dog but he didn’t want to forget her needs too, though there was a wage paid to her, he thought, to cover anything that she could want. The fact of the matter was, when it came to money, that dogs simply did not spend too much, not clinging to worldly possessions like humans did. Therefore, the money made often went back to their training centres to further the lives and livelihoods of other canines, fed back into the world to benefit all. Yet they could not surely be selfless forever, he was sure, even as Giselle cocked her head at him again.

“Sir, that’s a question I have not been asked before but I am very happy here. Thank you for asking me! Is the tea okay?”

He laughed shortly, rubbing his cheek.

“Actually, I think I was trying to enjoy it a little bit too much there – I should have waited for it to cool!”

Giselle laughed with him, though she had learned after the first time she had gone a little too far in helping him “cool his tea” by blowing on it to allow him to let it cool on his own. That was another thing that Kael had found surprising about her: her laugh. There posed a hint of a bark in it, as if she was on the edge of letting one out at all times, the sort of laugh that made him want to join in with her. He often did too.

They were easy in each other’s presence, Kael smiling at her as she stoked the fire on an evening. Her large bust was something, to be fair, that still got in the way, but it was just another feature of her that caught his eye and attention when she could have otherwise have slipped by, so quiet and sleek was she about going through her work. Giselle knew how to be unobtrusive while acting as a servant but Kael wanted to watch her, to pay attention to her even while his mind should have been better focused on things like his upcoming move and the travel involved. It was hard to worry or stress about things like that when he knew that it would be Giselle coming along with him, not so much a guide but someone who would be steadfast by his side the whole time. And what more could he possibly ask for under those circumstances?

But he wanted to do other things, finding himself with strange desires, looking in the mirror in the morning and shifting his weight from one foot to the other. He was pleasing enough to look at but those other dogs had outstripped him in terms of muscle so easily. Would she think less of him for looking as he did? He could not be sure about that, not truly, but he did ask her to fetch him some equipment to exercise with, something small and unobtrusive that could be used in his own quarters.

“Why are you doing this?” She asked one day while he used his psychic abilities to add resistance to a simple push-up. “There are no other humans here that seem to be doing what you are. Is there something more that I can do to you to make this easier? It seems so difficult...”

If he had not been struggling through a repetition, Kael would have laughed, sweating from maintaining his position and using his psychic powers too. Leaning as much into magic as he did, he didn’t often reach for it, though it was something, as with every human that he knew, that would always be there as and when it was needed. That did not mean that it was any less difficult to do two things at once and much less to answer her question as to why he was doing it.

He didn’t even know. Or maybe he did and didn’t want to yet admit it to himself.

Her loyalty was absolute. Kael mumbled something in answer and she allowed it to be, not pushing the issue further. It was not her place, even if a dog’s curiosity was as present as it was on a human. The difference between them in that regard was that she knew that she didn’t have to have every answer instantly when she could use her nose, later on, to sniff out any answers that had eluded her in time. There was no rush, a creature who lived far more in the present moment, not needing to think too far ahead or worry about the past. In that way, she was luckier than most humans that always had so much on their minds regardless of their status in life or success.

She slept on a sleeping mat beside his bed every night, though there was the option of sending her to the servant’s quarters too. Kael made the point to his parents that it was, very likely, going to be the required sleeping arrangement when he went away to study, so she should get used to it. There were some, of course, that could not manage to sleep in such a fashion and it was something too that had to be taken into consideration, just in case it was going to be a physical problem later on.

But there was nothing wrong with Giselle, not even if he spent all day and every night wracking his mind to find something that could have faced something that could possibly make her any less perfect to him. She went everywhere with him and his parents allowed him greater freedom as a direct result of that, only wanting him to be safe and guarded. Being diplomats, they had something to be cautious of amongst humans if not with the anthros in other lands, cautious without worrying, which was a fair place to be. He didn’t think that there was anything to be concerned with but he did not know what world experience they had either that they had not taken the time to share with him.

She sat on a lower stool by his side when he took breakfast with his parents, refusing politely to eat at the same time, something that his parents approved of.

“You’re very well-trained, Giselle,” his father said; it had taken him a little longer than Kael’s mother to get used to calling her by her name. “How many years were you in training?”

“Oh, I entered training officially after I turned sixteen – I did not want to continue with our education system.” She grinned, tongue lolling out, happy to talk whenever she was asked to. “There were other programs before that I was more interested in than schooling, of course, so I was hiking and camping and learning all sorts of skills that I knew would be applicable to getting into the training program that I wanted.”

“I’m surprised there were not trainers better directing you in that way,” Kael’s mother said, interested but not beyond a passing curiosity in Giselle, to be fair. “You would have done very well in manual labour too, with your physique, though I can see just why becoming a bodyguard was your chosen path.”

Kael sighed. They wouldn’t understand that there was more to dogs than just the work they did, though he couldn’t blame them either for not digging into conversation with Giselle like he did. For a start, they would not be spending a very good portion of the coming years with her as he studied, which was incentive enough to get to know just who he would be living with and close with. He wanted to know that there was a relationship between them, so at the very least he’d know that he’d have someone to talk to when he was away, for the jury was still out on whether the anthros would accept him amongst them to study, even if that had been the official decree. In that aspect, his parents may have been just a little bit too optimistic for realism. 

“Sir, why do you study so late? Do you not tire?”

She spoke strangely but the odd lilt and tone of her voice, at the very least, made her voice all the easier to listen too. For a German Shepherd who had spent so much of her life and career in a training facility, it was amazing just how well she spoke, how much she could engage with him. But her life had been designed for something else and loyalty honed her skills, polishing a blade by the light of a lamp on the evening or assisting her master with his scrolls. It felt right to her, even though there was something in her that, of course, wondered why he did what he did. She was not, by any means, lacking in any kind of intelligence.

“Well...” He pondered the question, wanting to give her an answer that he had thought out. “I want to do well in my studies. I don’t know if any of this will be taught there but I still want to be as prepared as I can be. I want to give the best impression there, because...” He trailed off, putting his head in his hands. “Oh, lord...”

“What? Sir, what is it?!”

Her hands were on his shoulders then, pulling him back, trying to turn him to face her, all so that she could best serve him. It didn’t help her that her master was upset, his eyes squinting, doing everything he could to look away from her, though it was Giselle’s loyalty and over-eagerness to please that kicked in, dropping into a crouch to put herself on a lower level to him.

“No, no... It’s fine, it’s fine, it’s nothing...” He growled roughly in the back of his throat, though not even that sound came naturally for Kael. “Perhaps it is time we turned in for the night.”

Giselle shuffled back, her ears splayed, nodding unhappily.

“Yes, sir, of course. But please know that I am always going to be here for you, whatever you need.”

He knew that, even as the lantern was snuffed out for the night, a flame that he liked to see flickering and dancing, eating up the wick as so many in the world were apt to eat up the very land that sustained them. He could have had one that worked off electricity, if he wanted, but he liked the effect of the flame. Plus, once he had snuffed it out at the wick for the night, it was difficult to re-light it if he ever tossed and turned.

That night, sleep did not come easily. The owls called outside, a screech heralding a tawny owl, for it was only one of the pair that made the typical “twit-two” call of an owl. He rolled onto his right side, pummelling his pillow into shape, his four-poster bed draped with awnings: enough to give an air of class, that such fineries could be afforded by his family. Not that anyone ever saw the bedroom of course, but merely having it custom-made by the preferred carpenter was enough to refine and define their position in the world.

“Sir?”

He stiffened. Sometimes he forgot that he no longer slept alone, his nightclothes lying uncomfortably even though the cloth was of a high quality and soft to the touch.

“Yes?”

Kael sweated. That was strange. That was very strange. He swore he could feel her presence there, so close to him, though he did not turn to see her sit up, eyes reflecting what tiny bit of light there was filtering in through the gap in the curtains.

“Sir, I only want to help you. I don’t want to offend in any way but please let me know if there is anything...” She paused, taking a breath that did not seem to fit the time. “Anything at all I can do for you, I will do. You’re one of the only humans that’s ever treated me as an equal here. I hope that is not too...forward to say.”

He swore there was a lump of tightness in her throat, something that held her back when none of it made sense. Giselle was quite right – he should never have talked to her the way he did, though neither was there anything wrong with it either. People talked to dogs all the time but the fact of the matter was that it didn’t matter how they talked to dogs or whether they talked to them or not. They could if they wanted to and there was nothing wrong with ignoring them too. The dogs, most certainly, never seemed to mind.

Until Giselle. Or maybe she had been the only one to speak up about it, if only with one that, for some reason, she trusted explicitly. 

“Giselle...”

He couldn’t help himself. Without thinking, Kael had sat up in bed and swung his legs over the side, bare toes curling into the plush rug lying over the oiled and fed floorboards of his sleeping quarters. He saw her there, eyes adjusting to the fuzzy outline of her, her ears sticking out the most. 

“What, sir?”

“You don’t always have to call me sir.”

It didn’t match up with everything but it was still a moment that stood out between them, seconds stretching into a minute, maybe longer. In the dead of the night, there was no way to tell. 

“Sir?”

“Giselle... Yes?”

“Can I come over there? Please?”

She was so keen, so soft, so eager to please. He could not say no, shifting over and patting the bed beside him. Giselle leapt up beside Kael with a soft “wuff”, indenting the mattress to her side, larger than him even though that was not something that he thought about all that much anymore. There were just so many more things to think about but he could think of nothing but her as her shoulder brushed his, bare fur tickling his clothes, only wearing a vest top that exposed the muscle in her arms on her top half.

Why did he like those muscles so much?

Kael leaned into her, his head on her shoulder. Anything was allowed, no one there to bear witness to the softness between them but the dark of the night, boundaries breaking down, bit by bit. It was there that anything was possible.

“Sir?”

“Call me Kael... Please.”

At least when they were alone. There would still be appearances to be kept up in public, even as they leaned into one another. Neither could have said whether Giselle or Kael moved first, not even in the aftermath of the moment, but their lips touched, hands sliding together, clutching at clothes. It was their first kiss, the first time for both of them, Kael not really counting that time when he’d had a few too many drinks and missed Susannah’s lips, landing sloppily on her cheek instead. That was nothing in comparison to what would come in days and weeks to come, his bond with the dog growing and growing.

But she was so much more than a dog, just a dog, as he kissed Giselle tentatively, their tongues slipping out. She knew better how to lap than he did but, strangely, the tease and twist of her tongue was sensual in how it curled over his lips and dipped into his mouth, a divine touch that left him hungry and wanting more, always more. Her heart beat more quickly while he was there, pressed up against her, yet it was the feel of her round bosom pushing into his chest that had his heart hammering all the harder for her.

Nothing came in a night, however, even though the warmth of their bodies together was too much for either of them to separate from, at least so swiftly. There was too much that was yet to come and too many days to delight in together. They may not have known it as yet but times like that were best savoured, taken slowly, his eyes only drifting closed when she was pressed up to him, cradling him, his head tucked in under her chin and a little too close to her chest for Kael’s dreams to be entirely clean.

They didn’t say anything in the morning, things too strange for either of them to acknowledge. Instead of talking about it, Giselle accompanied Kael to the shooting range, his arrows sailing forth into a target that did nothing to soothe the edges of his frustration.

“Why do you not use guns and other metal-firing weapons?” She asked, sitting cross-legged, though it was no secret that she would be up and on any threat that appeared before one could even blink despite her position. “I see that humans tend to prefer those. Your technology is preferred to most over the magic that you seem to prefer.”

Kael considered her question.

“I like the feel of the wood in my hand.”

Did that have a double-meaning? He hoped she didn’t know that, though swore that the edges of her lips quirked just a little. It was hard to tell even as he nocked another arrow, drawing the string back, exhaling. It was all about control.

Twang!

The arrow sailed forth, straight and true. It was telling, especially with his frustration, that he was able to target it directly, the arrow shivering where it lay deeply embedded right in the centre. He could control that emotional part of himself at a time like that.

“It just wouldn’t be the same with a gun. It would feel different, like I wasn’t really doing the shooting. Firing...” He shook his head, the terms being too mechanical for his liking. “This is different. It makes me slow down, makes me breathe, makes everything else fall away.”

He didn’t know she was there until her cheek was pressed to his, an arm around his waist, taller than him and just on the other side of the arrow, trapping it to his skin. He could not lose it, less the fletching catch his skin as it flew free, holding his breath, a line of tension stiffening across his shoulders.

It was wrong and it was right how hard his heart beat for her, wanting to be close.

“Here...” She breathed, her eyes darting too as if she was not quite sure either. “Like this... Exhale...now. Tighter...here. Relax...this.”

Her fingers found the spots but he could not relax, not even breathing, eyes wide, heart pounding. She knew it too, her senses too sharp to know otherwise, and yet her nose twitched as if she had not realised what she was doing, stepping back with a small smile, her eyes shining with a little too much innocence to be believed.

“And now... Loose!”

He let the arrow fly, trembling through the air until it plunged into the heart of the target, his best shot yet. And, somehow, it felt easier for Giselle leading him to it.