Chapter 2.09

“You should’ve sent for me earlier!” Twylip complained, rushing to join Flint by the newly built campfire. Two stone spheres stood next to them, one on top of the other. Unfortunately, the green light coming off them didn’t help Maya. Flint sensed her pain through the empathic link, but an odd sense of pride accompanied it.

“Well, I’ve got Seven helping Maya,” Flint replied. “I’m not sure what more you can do to help them. The best I can do is comfort her empathetically—Maya appears to be resisting me on that front.”

“I meant on more of an emotional support front,” she said, smacking his back. Twylip grinned. “How does this pack of yours work? Are you a grandad, uncle, or what?”

Flint shrugged. “I didn’t give that much thought, really. I’m not sure canine brains think of relationships that way. I’ve known Maya since she was a wee pup. After raising her, it sure feels like she’s my daughter. I don’t have any means for comparison, of course. So, maybe I’ve wrong. Too many parents have expressed how offending they find me caring for daughter in a paternal manner.”

“These are people without compassion and empathy. Anyway, how many pups we got so far?”

“Four,” Flint answered. Seven and a couple of other brownies blocked their view of Maya. Initially, she sent Flint memories of him stroking her head when sick. He’d obliged and scratched her ears after quite a while. After the first hour, she’d pushed him away, though. Since then, Seven had stuck to Maya’s side, massaging her sides with green, glowing hands.

One of them looked like Maya after her transformation. While the others mostly had Bjorn’s colouration with properties of both parents. It was still too early to tell which parent’s qualities would be dominant with the litter. Flint didn’t care either way. He had to resist rushing to Maya’s side to pet her and watch the pups warming up against her belly.

Around sunset, Bjorn showed. The big snowdog came running uphill with a giant moose leg in his mouth. He dropped the meat by Maya’s face and licked her snout. Bjorn’s huge brown and blue eyes glanced between her and the puppies. His tail swished from side to side slowly as he watched. Then, following some yapping, Seven stepped away, leaving the new family to it.

Maya ended up having a total of seven pups. Four girls and three boys. Only two of the girls resembled their mother. The rest carried the exact colouration and pattern as their father. He sensed mostly tiredness from the pups and did his best not to touch them. The new parents didn’t mind Flint sitting by their side, but whenever anyone else approached, Bjorn growled at them.

The puppies were already feeding as a group. Six of them had found nipples, while the smallest of them—a blue and white-coated sausage, was struggling to get past his siblings. Maya was too tired to help, and Bjorn didn’t know where to being. So Flint got involved and lay the pup atop Maya. Following a couple of minutes of wriggling, she latched and started feeding.

A beastmaster had once told Flint most canines produced extra potent milk for their pups for the first twelve hours after birth. The milk helped the little ones avoid disease and infection during their early days. Flint didn’t want Maya to lose any members of her first litter and wanted to ensure everything went smoothly.

Bjorn didn’t appear to mind Flint’s interruption. Instead, he licked Flint with a massive tongue and put his head down next to Maya. His big eyes glanced between her and the pups while she faded into a deep slumber.

Winona appeared once both dogs had fallen asleep, and the observers had dispersed. Shadowy tendrils retreated from her limbs as she slowed to a stop next to him. She sat down next to Flint with two bowls of warm stew.  He hadn’t anything since breakfast and attacked the meal hungrily while she ate at a more reserved pace.

“Are you reading their essence?” Winona asked.

“Should I be?”

“Always.” She laughed. “It’s not enough to just practise your abilities and empath powers. Given how different your essence is compared to everyone else’s, you need to always stay top of your training. Cut off your connection to everything but the pups and tell me as you see.”

Flint did as requested. Since Maya now had Bjorn to comfort her, she no longer needed him. Besides, labour had long passed, and slumber had taken the new family. The bloodhounds sat nearby. They had peeked in to sniff at the pups, but a growl from Bjorn got them to back off. Flint blocked them off first, and once again, he felt the pink and blue linking him to Bjorn and Maya. When he erected empathic barriers, the colours remained, but he saw new strands connecting him to the pup.

While most of the strings carried different shades of pink and blue, he found a strange purple one as well. It linked him to the blue pup that had struggled to suckle. The biggest of the litter—a male with Bjorn’s colouration—carried no colour at all. Instead, a transparent tether connected him to Flint. His brows furrowed as Flint noticed all the new strands and their colours floating around and through him. He could feel essence in the transparent twine too. As he slowly removed his barriers, Flint found similar links to the bloodhounds and then the usual with Maya and Bjorn. Once all the barriers were gone, the information overload got too much, and the colours disappeared altogether. He could still feel the ambient essence, but his mind prioritised the empathic links.

“I think I was wrong before when describing my essence,” Flint said.

“What do you mean?” Winona asked, wiping her bowl clean with a chunk of flatbread.

“The blue and pink. They belong to Bjorn and Maya, respectively. Their essence flows between and through us. It’s the same for the pups except for the chunky one. My essence appears to be colourless and—” Flint paused, struggling to get his thoughts together. “I can’t describe it. It’s there. My instincts tell me so.”

“That’s strange. You might want to relay the discovery to Alais. Perhaps he can help get to the bottom of it.” Winona shuffled closer and rested her head against Flint’s shoulder. Her eyes remained focused on the newborn pups. “They’re beautiful,” she said, removing her scarf and draping it between the two dogs. Maya opened an eye and glanced at Winona before returning to her slumber. “Your girl did well.”

“She’s the best girl,” Flint commented. Then he chuckled. “I’m not sure whether I can say that once the pups start growing. Especially if they understand me as well as their mother does. Do you recognise the essence coming off the blue girl? It’s nothing like Maya or Bjorn’s.”

“Can’t say I do. It feels like the two inherited essences fused into one and created something completely new.” Winona’s right hand brushed against Flint’s left. “I’m more curious about the big one.” She pointed at the male connected to Flint by the colourless essence string. “Every living creature has the minutest trace of essence. He, on the other hand, doesn’t. I sense nothing from him. It’s like an aura of nothingness surrounds him.”

“A dog that’s capable of remaining undetectable to all form of detection would be perfect for running rescue operations,”

“You’re thinking too small.” Winona chuckled. “What if he has the power to nullify spells and abilities in his immediate vicinity?” Flint’s eyes widened as he stood in the way of a Bjorn-like figure, blocking a magical barrage.

“I’d rather not burden a pup with that kind of responsibility,” Flint said. “By the Heartstones, just the thought of them testing such an ability horrifies me.”

“Your class is wasted on you.” She planted a kiss on his cheek. “A Wyldmaster would turn the dogs and pups into an army that would remind fae and humans of the Cu Sith. You don’t, though. I suppose that’s what I like about you. The safety of your people—dog, human or fae—is your first priority.”

“The life quest made me responsible for—”

“The Heartstone gave you a choice,” Winona said, interrupting him. “It didn’t push an obligation upon you. How you fulfil the quest and what you do with its gifts is your decision.” Winona turned Flint’s face to face hers and pressed her lips to his. Then after a deep kiss, she continued. “Your decisions aren’t always the smartest, but you prioritise safety over everything else.”

“What do you mean?” Flint asked, pulling away. “What bad decisions have I made?”

“Your decision with the inquisitors,” Winona answered. “If I were in your position, I wouldn’t have been as short with Bluelake. Inviting her and perhaps one more person inside would be the smarter decision. We could’ve let her conduct her investigation and then turned them away.” Winona pulled Flint closer, nuzzling his neck. “Don’t get me wrong. You acted out of fear for your fae residents, and I appreciate it. We all do. You’re not like other leaders either. Pride and ego don’t get in the way of your decisions. When someone more experienced gives you advice, you listen.”

Winona kissed him again. She pulled her arms around him and tightly gripped his hair. Flint felt heat and red radiating from her, and a hunger awakened in him.

“Should I ask Ed to make different sleeping arrangements for the night?” Flint asked.

“Wouldn’t you rather come up to the fort? We’ll have more privacy.”

“Bjorn and Maya aren’t going to move from where they are tonight. I can ask the bloodhounds to keep out too.”

Winona’s eyes narrowed as she studied Flint’s face. “Seven!” She called, summoning the brownie. “Are you keeping an eye on the pups tonight?” Seven nodded. “If Ed comes by, tell him to sleep elsewhere tonight. Understood?”

“Yes, Daughter of the Moon,” Seven replied. Then the pair retired to Flint’s shelter. Before following her into the darkness inside, Flint shaped the remains of the discarded cart into a door and wedged it into the opening.