Page 19 of Shifter King

The bavril gave another long bellow, then swatted WroOth with his trunk.

WroOth jumped back with surprise. "You have a complaint to make?"

Proteus lowed, then lashed out with his trunk again. This time WroOth neatly sidestepped it. "I'm not hunting another."

Another angry bellow followed.

Naatos raised an eyebrow. That was more than a little surly.

"He’s grouchy because there’s a female nearby," Amelia said, appearing on the other side with an arm full of gourds. She faltered. He caught her under the arm. "I think he wants to go to her." Her cheeks, throat, and collarbone flushed more red. "You might say they’re in love."

The ululating bellow that followed suggested the bavril agreed.

"Why are you not resting?" he demanded.

She tugged free and twitched her shoulder as if that was an acceptable answer. It wasn't. No matter how pretty her shoulder was.

AaQar placed another newly-formed coil of rope onto the pile. "It probably is for the best. He'll have a better chance of going where his instincts guide him for the Grey Season if we don't keep him here."

QueQoa drank from the canteen and wiped his mouth. "If he's found a mate, he probably doesn't care if it's safer."

True enough. Naatos watched Amelia from his periphery as he considered the best solution to the bavril. There was really only one viable solution. He had no more of the charms to tame a second bavril. They would need some other beast of burden and defense. But this one had served long enough. He was only going to become increasingly surly and unmanageable, likely by the hour at this point. Besides, it felt wrong on principle now.

"Delorme, come." He snapped his fingers at Proteus and gestured toward the southeastern side of the camp.

The bavril laid his ears back but stood, passing over the carcass without glancing down at it.

WroOth picked up a coil of rope and looped it around the besred carcass's grey-green hind legs. "Well, that was exceptionally rude."

Amelia finished placing the remaining gourds in the pile and then wiped her hands off. "If it's all right, I'd like to see him off as well," she said.

He nodded, restraining the surprise that rose within him. It shouldn't be shocking that his wife wanted to spend time with him. And it was quite likely that it was more she wanted to see the bavril find his own happiness and be free. "Just don't get too close after he's freed," he said.

She nodded her assent.

They walked to the edge of the rels' protection. Amelia pointed to the left. "There she is," she said softly.

Naatos nodded.

The female bavril had come almost to the edge of the rels. She had a more triangular head than Proteus and the distinctive broader grey stripes and thinner black stripes along her sides. Proteus grunted, then gave a long ululating call.

She returned it, but the sound was so low he scarcely heard it.

AaQar would surely remind him that this was often seen as a good omen. Especially when a female this healthy sought out the male.

Proteus stamped on the ground, wagging his long shaggy tail back and forth. Then he tilted his head back and called out again.

Naatos grunted, sounding more annoyed than he felt. "A moment."

Amelia stood beside him, watching with her arms folded and her head tilted. It was as if she was trying to see straight into the bavril for something deeper. At least she was out of reach of the bavril's trunk.

Carefully, he slid his hands along the bavril's throat to the base. It was far easier to remove the charm than to affix it, especially if one wanted to do it without hurting the animal. The thrum of energy pulsed in his fingertips as he felt the small bulge of the bone charm. The last of Fiere's gifts.

Golden light flowed out. So simple. So basic. One moment it was harmlessly beneath the bavril's fur and skin, the next it was drawn into his palm.

The bavril hummed a soft sound now, then trumpeted. With a softer hum, he lowered his head.

Naatos stepped back, motioning for Amelia to do the same. She already had.