Open Caught Between The Earth And Sky

[Colt]

19th of fall, 513 a.v
late afternoon

The sun was beginning her descent towards the western horizon, though the sky would remain blue for awhile yet. It was logic tinted with habit that had driven the horse and rider from the lonely cluster of tents and into the seemingly endless plains. Akaidras slipped into a canter before they had even left sighting distance of the camp, then surged into a powerful gallop. Shahar let the Strider run, refusing to protest even as the stallion tapped into the Web and hit his Stride. The wind roared through Shahar’s ears, through his body, through his blood, through everything until he couldn’t tell the difference between himself, his Strider or the golden blur of land around them. They ran, joyous and carefree, for no other reason than the fact that they could.

The stallion tossed his head, pulling gradually into a regular gallop once more. That, in turn, became a canter, which slowed to a trot, and in a few more moments the Drykas pair had come to a complete stop. Akaidras neighed and pranced even as his rider slid to the ground; the injuries of the siege had left the horse handicapped for quite some time, and in the wake of their healing he seemed eager to make up the time that had been lost.

The Tsarvik had failed to provide an exact length of time that he expected the trip to last, and even though Shahar had taken care to bring along ample rations he didn’t want to dip into the supplies unless he had to. He had resolved, then, to continue hunting as much of their food as he could, and to return to Endrykas with the skins and bones when it was time. He wanted to preserve their long-lasting food for as long as possible.

He bid Akaidras to stay in the area and slipped into the rattling grass. He almost tossed another sign into the sky, but had to pause to remember that he was alone, and that Khida was not with him on this trip. There were many strange things to adjust to now that she had decided to take human shape, but it was astoundingly difficult to refrain from signing heavenwards; it felt so different for her not to be there.

The plains here were thick with life, far thicker than anything near the tent city. The Run was a number of miles to the south, leaving the wildlife to wander where they would. The wanderings of the sage-grouse, the slinking stride of the grass-cat or the bounding of the antelope--every glance revealed a new trail or set of tracks, weaving the stories of the creatures that made this place.

He found three well-worn trails leading south, and was careful to keep them intact as he followed them; a resource had to be nearby, probably water, which would provide a much more complete picture of the fauna that called this stretch of grassland home.

[Kemlo]

Animal was starving and he knew it. For many days he tried to survive after his escape from the gypsies. Considering that all the Kelvic boy owned had been the cruel spiked choke collar locked around his neck and an occasional branch used as a club or a stone to throw he did surprisingly well to survive for such a long time in the See of Grass. His instincts of a Talderian tiger helped a lot to find food he was able to catch or gather and to avoid the dangerous predators. From time to time he ran into a single smaller one but despite some scratches and not too serious bites he was able to drive those away. All the fights he had to do for the gypsies taught him how to fight against animals and the long sharp spikes on the outside of his collar prevented the attackers from a bit into his neck. They got a nasty surprise as they tried it anyway.

Ironically Animal's instincts told him in this situation to lie down in a calm spot and wait for death. Only his conscious mind wasn't ready to give up and clung onto the last straws of life. His primitive weapons he lost hours ago as he got weaker and weaker but forced himself to go on. Just one step more.... and then another step....

A while ago, Animal felt like it had been days but more likely only a few minutes, he stumbled onto water. Some animals had been there but they fled before the boy had even a chance to go after them. He would have been too slow anyway. Dropping into the the mud of the bank he drunk as much water as he could to fill his stomach. Even that didn't help anymore against the gnawing hunger inside his stomach.
Helplessly the boy rolled around in the mud before he found the strength to get back onto his feet, ignoring the even louder instincts that told him to stay and die. Looking around Animal suddenly saw the trail coming from the north. The animals that ran away probably made it. There was no food to be found but it made walking a little but easier with the grass already bent away. Having no better options the boy followed the trail to the north. He didn't even remember what animals made that trail anymore because his remaining will was focused on the next step.

His instincts reacting to an unexpected smell brought Animal out of his trance like state. In human form his sense of smell was not as good as in tiger form but it was still keener than a human ones.
And it was some sort of human smell his senses detected. It had to be not too far north of him and a bit to the side of the trail. 'A hunter?' shot through his head as he realized this might be the encounter he had been hoping for. surely it was his last chance. With his body mobilizing some reserves the boy wasn't aware of before he walked a bit faster and his hope grew as he realized the smell came closer.

Animal surely looked strange and unearthly as he stumbled along the path and swayed from side to side while looking directly to the source of the human smell in front of him.
He looked like a human boy of about eleven or maybe twelve years of age. The only thing he wore was a cruel looking spiked choke collar around his neck. Made from connected chain links with long sharp spikes on the outside and shorter blunt ones on the inside it should be expected around the neck of a dangerous dog and no the one of a boy. The end of the chain from the collar meant to he used to connect a leash or chain hung down his breast. The special locking device that kept it shortened to stop Animal from changing was hard to see from the distance.
His childish body was packed with muscles that twitched and rippled from exhaustion and the strain on them. The body was covered in half dried mud and only his slightly cleaner head showed he had a deep tan. A number of partly fresh scratches and smaller bites covered his body, arms and legs. Most scratches might have come from the long grass or thorns he ran into but some obviously resulted from animal attacks.
Below the dirt and scratches many older partly even bigger scars could be seen and especially the three big ones across his chest and belly looked like the could have killed a grown warrior. A big slave brand in form of a broken arrow had been burned into his right breast and the scar had a black color. A similar brand on his left buttock became visible a short time later.

Suddenly Animal stumbled and fell forward without being able to lessen the fall. Despite the hard impact the boy looked up and his yellow-golden tiger eyes that turned greenish towards the iris looked directly towards the human smell as the boy raised his right arm towards it.

[Colt]

A flock of birds vacated the brush ahead, squalling loudly at whatever it was that had disturbed them. Shahar stopped and tensed, drawing a javelin from his quiver. It was late afternoon; the dangerous predators were supposed to either be asleep or preparing to rest. Something was definitely off.

The grass rustled beneath clumsy feet, causing the hunter to tilt his head. It was far too loud for a normal predator, or even prey. Was it something wounded, then?

It was coming nearer, and Shahar warily turned the weapon sideways, forming a guard. It sounded large, but not too large; an antelope perhaps, or a very, very young lion. He would be ready for it, whatever it was.

But when the child tumbled from the grass, Shahar was caught completely by surprise. The boy couldn’t have had more than twelve winters on him, though his body was taut with hardship after hardship taken and endured. A brand was upon one side of his chest, and around his neck was a necklace… no, around his neck was a collar. Shahar stared, at the collar, at the brand, at the boy, at everything, completely bewildered. What was he doing here? How on earth had he gotten here, and how was he still alive?

All of his questions were silenced, however, when the boy toppled forward as the last of his strength seemed to fade. He remained conscious--barely--but the hunter’s confusions were forced to hold in the face of a much more pressing matter. Hunt forgotten, the Drykas quickly circled to the other side of the child; the brand obviously marked him as a slave, and the boy had to have come from somewhere. If the slavers were nearby, Shahar had placed himself firmly between them and the prone child.

There was mud on his skin and his face was wet, suggesting that he had recently taken water from the very place Shahar had been nearing, but the Drykas gave the boy his waterskin anyway before hoisting him off of the ground. Starvation had made him light, more than light enough for Shahar to carry, though the strange collar around his neck pricked the man’s shoulder painfully. He ignored it; he needed to get this child back to the camp, and quickly.

Shahar let out a piercing whistle, and within moments the four-beat rhythm of a canter announced Akaidras’s arrival. The Drykas wasted no time in sliding the boy onto the horse’s back and leaping up after him, and within moments they were loping, galloping, Striding back in the direction of camp.

[Kemlo]

Deep down in his consciousness the boy was aware about the squalling bird and that for his standards he made as much noice as a charging Nabato Cattle but there was nothing he could have done against it. His mind and instincts just concentrated on the goal of meeting that human in the hope he would help and not kill him.

His senses and instincts told animal that the human stopped. His instincts indicated possible danger too but even blunted somewhat from lack of food the boy's mind was aware that he would die anyway if he missed this human. Being killed on sight just made no difference and so he stumbled forward. The fear of being enslaved again just didn't surface from his subconsciousness at this time but it remained hidden in the background.
Only later he became aware how unbelievably lucky he had been to stumble onto a human being that day after searching for many days without even finding a single mark of a sentient being. At this moment nothing could have been further from his mind.

Finally he reached the position of the human. Seeing him the first time it was obvious that he was a hunter and the sight of his looks and clothing brought some of the lessons his parents gave him back to his mind. Living in the See of Grass his parents told him about the Drykas. He never saw one before in his short life but comparing the tales of his parents to the man in front of him he was sure it was one of the Drykas. If that was something good or bad he would learn soon enough the boy figured out because he had more important things on his troubled mind.
At other times the Kelvic boy would have been amused by the surprise and bewilderment visible on the man's face and eyes but in his troubled mind and on the brink of starvation he was far away from it. At the moment the hunter moved around him to the side Animal came from the boy felt relieve about the chance of survival and nervousness about not knowing what would happen to him. At this moment the man could do to him what he wanted because Animal was too weak to fight back.

The boy was unsure what the hunter planned with his movement around him but tried to keep an eye on him. His outstretched arm already lay beside him on the ground again but Animal didn't bother to move him further around than necessary to save the little nit of strength his body still provided. He was still trying to figure out what the man planned to do as he became aware that it might have been a protective position in case he was followed.
The thought was relieving but before Animal had a chance to take a closer look into it the man held his waterskin out to him. Still full with all the water he just drank the boy tried to say 'No' but what came out of his throat sounded more like a mix between a growl and a hiss. Instead he shook his head lightly and made no effort to grab the waterskin to save his strength.

The man didn't say a single word to Animal but before the boy realized this the hunter already hoisted him up. Animal's instincts and sense of possible danger made the boy flinched and shuddered at the first touch but then he got himself under control and didn't resist any further as he was held in the arms of the man. Feeling the inner spikes against his neck as the outer ones pressed against the hunter's shoulder the boy leaned his head as far as possible to the other side to lessen the pain. His fights and accidentally pricking himself in his sleep made him well aware of the damage the long sharp spikes on the outside could do. If he wanted to life he had to give himself into the hands of this human. At least until he regained his strength. Despite his instincts still somewhat fighting it the decision had already been made and he had to live with it.

The reason for the man's whistle quickly became clear as Animals hearing caught the sound of hooves at a fast speed. He knew it was a horse before he saw it's arrival. But the sight of the horse clearly got Animal's attentions. His eyes widened slightly not in fear but because he thought the stallion was beautiful.
The hunter quickly sat Animal on the horse's back and jumped up behind the boy. To Animal it felt like he was barely on the horse and they already raced forward. They soon reach a speed well beyond anything the boy would be able to reach. Despite his condition this was exciting to the boy who slowly regained a little strength from the fact that he didnt need to move. The way the hunter held him Animal felt protected and that calmed him down quite a bit. As he relaxed he snuggled with his back lightly into the hunter but kept his head bent forward to keep the spikes away from the man. But he stayed awake because he never rode a horse before and the speed kept his senses fully loaded with strange experiences.
All this together allowed his mind to return slowly to a state of childish wonder mixed with instincts from his animal form which was much more normal for the Kelvic boy than the seriousness that had been necessary to survive the last days.

[Colt]

The boy made a strange, non-confrontational hiss at the offered waterskin, which Shahar would have understood far better than any spoken word. If the boy was not thirsty, that meant that food was the next thing he needed, followed by shelter and rest.

The child was awkward and ungainly upon Akaidras’ back, much to the stallion’s irritation, prompting the hunter to assume that the boy had never been astride a horse before. Definitely not a Drykas. Shahar laced his fingers through the Strider’s mane and pulled the boy closer to him when they tapped the Web, anchoring him so that he would not fall off at their speed. This seemed to wake the boy from his exhausted stupor; his body molded to Shahar’s grip and he looked around at the blurring grasslands with childlike wonder. He had enough presence of mind, at least, to lean his head forward in an attempt to minimize Shahar’s own pain, though Shahar gave no indication of approval or disapproval; he’d had worse injuries, and with the boy in such dire need of assistance the hunter didn’t care either way.

Akaidras slowed when the pinpricks on the horizon appeared, going to a normal gallop and then to a canter as they neared. They entered the camp at a speedy trot, coming to a halt between the hearth and Shahar’s own tent. The Drykas slid from his mount, then turned to lift the boy down as well. Akaidras pranced a few yards off, but remained nearby; he was uneasy at his bonded rider’s nervous restlessness, and could find no threat to vent such unease, and so opted to stay well within visual contact.

Nakedness had never been something that Shahar found cause for concern, at least not by itself, but it was well into fall and dusk was approaching. He put the boy on the ground, bidding him to stay and pointing at the spot in the likely event that the boy did not speak Pavi. He then ducked into his tent and drew out the cloak that lay folded in a corner; when night came, the boy would need something to keep himself warm. He settled the cloak about the boy’s shoulders, though it was far too large for him and seemed more like a blanket than a garment.

“Come,” Shahar said, gesturing for the boy to follow him. At the center of the camp was the fire pit, though the blaze itself had become little more than stoked embers. Over it hung a pot, and in the pot was the breakfast stew that had remained uneaten. It was the usual way of things for Slither to let the uneaten stew sit during the day, then use it as a base for dinner, but it would mean little to start over from scratch.

Shahar took a seat before the hearth, gesturing to the space beside him for the boy to do the same.

[Kemlo]

Somewhere hidden deeply below his excitement Animal sensed the stallion's irritation thanks to his heightened tiger senses but it wasn't strong enough to register in his conscious mind. There wouldn't have been anything he could have done anyway.

After some time that seemed to be too short for his childish mind but much too long for his empty stomach the horse slowed down. The moment he detected the camp that looked like their destination the boy concentrated curiously on it but his body tensed too from uneasiness as his senses tried to make out as much as he could.
As they got closer the camp looked like more people lived there and that caused his instincts to get was stronger. Not strong enough to cause action but enough for the boy to feel uneasiness beside his curiosity and need for food. Again there was the fear of being enslaved again or even brought back to the gypsies but again there was the knowledge that he needed food and some time to regain his strength more than anything else.

Entering the camp Animal's senses worked at full strength as he tried to take in everything he could get by using sight, smell and hearing. The tent at which they stopped had the same smell as the hunter but the boy thought he detected the smells of another human and some creature had didn't know now. His instincts added that there should be more which caused him to sniff again to detect the smells of those living in this camp, be it sentient or beast.
But then a sudden thought shot through Animal's conscience mind. 'Was it possible the hunter had not realized he was a Kelvic?' The boy decided it would be safer if the man though he was a human boy and decided to use his senses even more passively without stopping his search.

The hunter slid from his horse and put Animal down as well. The boy had lost most of his bodily reserves but his for a child unusual amount of well developed muscles still felt hard and strong from constant use in his wanderings through the See of Grass. Many grown men would have cause to be envious about it because of being less developed. He was still weak and uneasy on his feet but was able to stand on his feet without help after his rest on the horse.
The boy looked up to the man with a questioning look and tilted his head a bit to the side as he told his to 'stay' in Pavi. Then he nodded with a little smile as the man pointed to the spot he was standing. Animal followed the man with his eyes as he searched inside the tent. He looked surprised at the man with his yellow-golden eyes that turned greenish towards the iris as he approached him with the cloak. He didn't shy away as the cloak was put over his shoulders but he flinched under the touch of the fabric on his skin. Slowly and carefully he felt at the fabric with both hands and sniffed on it too. Not in the way one tried to see if it's smelly but like he was curiously examining something new to him.

Animal knew about cloths because his parents had a few they brought with them to their hidden hut in the See of Grass and the gypsies that bought him wore them. Being on their own and well away from other sentient beings they rarely wore them. Animal examined them sometimes but until now he never wore any clothing in his life. Thanks to his animal form of a Talderian tiger his human body was well protected against the cold too. It felt uncomfortable but didn't hurt him unless it got a lot colder than it usually did in this part of the world. During his stay with the gypsies he saw how much they got bothered with these useless things they wore. He came to the conclusion he didn't like the things they covered their bodies with at all and had no need to bother with them.

The only reason Animal didn't outright refused the cloak was because he understood the man meant well as he offered them to him. The smell on the cloak showed the boy that the man usually wore it himself.
Again the boy looked questioningly with a tilted head at the man as he told him in the language he didn't understand to follow him. Another smile showed the boy understood the gesture. The moment they turned there Animal's nose caught the smell of the food. He sniffed two times into the direction but then controlled himself and just followed while swallowing the saliva the smell produced. That was the moment the cloak slid from his shoulder because he forgot to hold it. Slowly because of his weak legs Animal picked the cloak from the ground before he followed the man. That moment he decided it was just too bothersome and to give it back.

For a moment Animal hesitated about following the gesture to sit down as he fought the urge to go directly for the food his keen nose smelled inside the pot. His instincts and need nearly controlled him but then he fought them down. His childish curiosity about the man and the thought he shouldn't anger him too much barely kept the upper hand. The tales his parents told him about the Drykas had an important role in this.
Standing beside the man he looked at the cloak in his hand and thought how it was brought back into the form it had as it was taken from the tent. Not finding an answer he dropped it close to the man on the ground at a halfway clean spot.
After being stolen from his parents at such a young age and lacking any closeness since then the Kelvic boy's mind felt a strong need for friendship, companionship or even a bonding. He stepped close beside the hunter in hope of at least some close contact and hopefully a petting like the ones his parents gave to him because he really missed than for a long time now.

At the last moment the boy remembered that he knew nothing about the hunter and did one step away from his side before he sat down cross-legged. Looking towards the hunter he decided to see if they shared one language.
The boy pointed at himself. "Animal....." he began using the Common language. He was rudely interrupted by a surprising deep and loud roar from the empty middle of his body that obviously decided it needed food NOW.
For a second or two Animal looked very surprised but then he chuckled and pointed at the pot. "Food? What do you want me to do for it?" he asked again in well spoken Common as his sad, hungry and wide open eyes stared into those of the hunter.
After the month with the gypsies Animal was not used to saying more than the important facts. It was all that was needed and wanted there. There he learned too that you usually didn't get anything for free.

[Colt]

The cloak slipped from the boys shoulders as he made to follow, and he picked it up with what almost seemed to be an afterthought. Shahar turned to the hearth, letting the boy move at his own pace, and picked up one of the bowls stacked just outside of the circle of stones.

He became aware of heat to one side, and turned in surprise to see how near the boy had come. Had it been anyone, anything else Shahar would have shied away or bared his teeth, but this was not anything else. It was a child, and something Shahar recognized as completely unthreatening. It was only bemusement he felt when the boy looked at him with a deep longing in his eyes, one that was not exactly hunger--at least, not a hunger of the physical. But then he seemed to remember himself and stepped back, then sat a stride-length away.

The boy paused, then pointed at himself. His name? Shahar opened his mouth to repeat what had been spoken, but the child’s stomach interrupted him. Loudly. Heartbeats passed in silence, but then the boy chuckled softly and pointed at the pot. What he said next was incomprehensible to Shahar; he thought it was common, but the words came too quickly for him to make any sense of. He shrugged, signing I do not understand even though he was sure it would be useless. It was easy enough to see what he wanted, at least, and so Shahar silently went about doling some of the lukewarm stew into the bowl. Some of the loose nutrition had congealed at the bottom of the pot, while bits of meat and vegetables floated at the top. The movement of the spoon stirred it together once more, however, and there were modest amounts of both in the concoction that Shahar handed to the boy. What had he said his name was?

“Namal.” Surely that was it. He pointed at the boy. “Namal.” He pointed at himself.

“Shahar.”

[Kemlo]

Animal's senses and instincts caught the slight signs of the hunter's surprise and later his bemusement. The later connected to the boy's needs for somebody to be close to might have caused some strain but the boy took this as a good sign. The problem was he sensed something below it, something he couldn't identify that felt darker. In Animal's childish mind mixed with his animalistic instincts this turned into hope of getting closer to the hunter in friendship but the need to be careful and going slowly. This didn't stop his longing but made it more bearable.

A frustrated hiss escaped the boy as the hunter tried to to use strange looking signs to tell him something. Shown in a cage as a feral boy in the villages he used wild beast and especially tiger sounds so often he didn't even realize it. By the look of it he doubted the man spoke Common at all.

Before he could think more about it the hunter filled a bowl full with the lukewarm stew and handed it to him. The boy didn't care if it was hot or cold because to him it smelled just wonderful. But he wasn't sure what the price for it might be. For seconds he sat there and stared from the much needed food to the man's eyes.
In the end his needs and will to survive won out. He would do what he had to do to live he told himself as he fell onto the stew with a vengeance. Using his dirty fingers he shoveled it from the bowl into his mouth and gulped it down as fast as he could. Besides the use of his hands it looked like an animal on a feeding frenzy.
A starving human boy would have grown sick but for the Kelvic boy there was no danger. The boy wasn't even aware of the difference.

The boy only stopped as the man tried to speak his name and told Animal that he was called Shahar. The boy sighed this time and was about to try it again as his eyes fell on his fingers covered with stew. Unwilling to wast even a morsel of it he licked his fingers clean and gave Shahar a wide toothy grin. With his teeth in the open one could see his teeth looked quite strong, more pointy than normal and with unusually long canines. It wasn't too obvious but somehow they looked more like the teeth of a predator than a human.

With the food on his fingers saved the boy tried it again. He pointed to himself and spoke again in Common but slower and more pronounced. "A..N..I..M..A..L! ...... A..N..I..M..A..L! ...... A..N..I..M..A..L!" he repeated three times.

This done he looked hopefully at Shahar and made short work of the remaining stew. He even licked the bowl out as far as his tongue got in and used the fingers to remove even the smallest splatter in it. Sadly he looked towards the pot and the again hopefully to Shahar. "Shahar, please!" he asked in Common and repeated it in Shiber. Both times he spoke slow and a clearly as possible.

[Colt]

He began to devour the stew, movements so quick that Shahar feared he might make himself sick with speed. But the boy didn’t slow, didn’t seem to care as he finished the stew and licked his fingers for what little was on them. Once finished, the boy flashed the hunter a grin that was far too toothy to be normal, then put the bowl down to use his hands.

He pointed at himself, then repeated what he had said before, sounds much slower and more pronounced. Yes, Namal, that was what he’d said. Perhaps if he’d known that the word had its own meaning he would have said it differently, but he did not know that it meant ‘animal,’ only that it was the boy’s name. And so he said it like one.

“Namal,” Shahar repeated, heavily accented voice distorting the A until it was little more than a halted breath before the word. “H-Namal.” Hmm, that didn’t sound quite correct. Shahar much preferred Namal. “Namal,” he said again, shrugging noncommittally. It was close enough for the boy to recognize, anyway, and Shahar’s preference for Pavi prevented him from fully pronouncing the word the way it should have been said.

The boy returned to his bowl, licking the inside of the dish until all traces of the stew had vanished. He then offered it to Shahar in a gesture that he didn’t need to know common to understand. The Drykas took the bowl and put more stew in it, though there was a bit less than before. He didn’t want the child to hurt himself, so perhaps it would be best if this was the last bowl. He could have more tomorrow, when he’d had time to properly digest what he had alread.

Shahar handed Namal the stew, then put the lid back on the pot. That’s all for now, he signed even though he knew it was useless. More later.

[Kemlo]

The boy sighed again in mild frustration as Shahar spoke his name the wrong way again. different than before but still not right. He was going to try it again with a longer 'Aaaaa' and 'nnniiiii' but then Shahar used the first way again to call him 'Namal'. The shrug of his shoulders told Animal more than words might have done.
He thought about that and came to a surprising conclusion. He didn't really care. What was the difference if this Drykas called him Namal as long as he knew he was meant. He gave Shahar another grin and shrugged his shoulders too to show he didn't care either. At least for now. If the man didn't want to change it he couldn't force him.

With wide hopeful eyes Animal watched as Shahar filled his bowl again with more food. The boy didn't know it but leaning forward and waiting for the food his posture resembled some well trained pet waiting for the food it's owner prepared. The boy saw that it was less than before and the way Shahar place the lid on the pot a combination of instincts and common sense told him the meaning without understanding Shahar's signs. He gave the man a sad look but gracefully accepted the bowl.
Knowing there would be no more for a while and his direst hunger sated he at a lot slower this time. Animal now took his time to take the bigger morsels out of the bowl and tasted them one after the other. The meat was good but the taste and flavor of the cooked vegetables was much better he thought. The expression on his face as he enjoyed the few bigger vegetable pieces looked a lot like bliss.
Again the boy cleaned every last little morsel from his fingers and the bowl before he set it back to the place Shahar took it from.

Animal knew he now needed to rest but sleeping in this situation was out of the question. Looking at Shahar he considered what to do. With no real idea the boy's instincts took over. Feeling comfortable with the remaining warmth of the fire place and Shahar the boy lay onto his side parallel to the fire place, rolled on his back and lounged around with his arms and legs pulled half way to his body. Naturally he got a bit closer to Shahar as he did. The way Animal lay there and moved his upper body around on the ground he looked a lot like a cat lying on it's back and begging for a petting. Mostly out of habit from his time shown a feral boy in a cage the boy made some rather loud and deep purring sounds inside his throat.
The boy's stomach was still very muscular and defined but in this position it looked quite a bit sunken it. This made the bulge of his now full stomach even more visible.
The spikes of his collar pressed into the ground behind his neck and forced his head to tilt backward. That way he was still able to see Shahar. But it revealed the unusual locking device that prevented the choke collar from opening farther too.
For a cat or even a tiger this would be not unusual but a dirty unclothed boy doing this looked really strange.

Subconsciously hoping for a petting Animal remembered something from his past. Shortly before he had been caught and sold his parents told him they wanted to teach him Pavi, the language of the horse people who ruled the See of Grass. Now he knew what this language was called. Should he ask Shahar to teach him Pavi? But wouldn't there be more urgent matters?