[Flashback] Even Pups Bite(Miharu)

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden nodded, finishing off his own plate as he looked to her for a moment, noticing her eying it. He then slowly handed out the empty plate to her. He then took another quick sip of his water before checking on the turnips. "I can understand your reservations, but sometimes you need a bit of time out of the woods here and there," Jaeden commented before taking a rag and using it to lift the pot off the embers of the fire and setting it aside to cool. "Too much solitude can bring a person to the knees just as easily as not enough." A slow scratch of his head was given as he sat himself back down. "Give them another few minutes to cool," Jaeden said reaching into his pack as he pulled out a couple of herbs to enhance the flavor of the turnips. "Then you can use a pinch of this with each of them to finish their preparation."

[Miharu Mindi]

She took his plate and licked it clean too, getting a little bit of blackberry sauce on her nose which she quickly swiped off with a fingertip.

"Maybe," she conceded, not convinced but willing to accept that he might know more about such things than her. "Well, if you really want to go to the city, I wouldn't mind I guess. I have a few pelts that need selling anyway."

Once his plate was clean, she handed it back to him and eyed the turnips, giving the pouch of herbs a sniff. "You know an awful lot about cooking. Most people I know just sear it and eat it," she chuckled.

[Jaeden Kincade]

"I burn a lot of food as well," Jaeden explained as he ran his hands over his face for a moment. Eating a nice meal as tended to make him sleepy. "You get better as you go, however." Jaeden leaned back, lacing his hands behind his head as he saw Miharu sniffing the herbs. "Just a couple of spices," Jaeden explained. "The give the turnips a bit of a zip that counters the sweet of the fish we just ate, giving the meal balance. Just a pinch though. Too much and you'll end up with a burning sensation in your chest for a short while."

[Miharu Mindi]

Small fingers picked out a careful pinch for her turnips, and she scooped some of them onto his plate and did the same for him. And then she devoured hers in a few bites, ending with a pleasant smile and a tiny burp.

She looked over at him, realizing his eyes were drooping, and blinked. "You should get some rest. You need to heal, and you worked a long day besides," she said with a little frown, waiting for him to finish his food before taking his plate and hers, as well as the pans, and hopping up to go wash them in the stream. "Off you go. I'll clean up and set the fire to rights."

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden gave a subtle yawn as he looked around the camp for a moment, noting a light amount of things scattered about, and then he felt tiredness hit him pretty hard. Between his preparation of the trap earlier in the day, the injury, and spending the time fishing, he was actually more wiped then he thought. He gave a slow nod to Miharu, slowly pushing himself up to a stand. "Alright, but don't do too much work, and get yourself some sleep," Jaeden then said in compromise. "You had a long day as well." Jaeden then slowly limped his way over towards his tent, minding his leg as he slowly slipped inside. He fell to his back along his bedroll, burying his palms into his eyes as he gave them a slow rub. He felt tomorrow would be a little tougher that today was.

[Miharu Mindi]

It was quite possible that the next day would be harder for them both - but Miharu was blissfully ignorant of that possibility as she puttered around the camp, softly humming whatever song that Jaeden had sung while he was fishing.

She shed her bothersome dress since her new master was safely tucked into the tent and couldn't see her to get angry. She took care of the dishes, and made sure to throw all of the fish guts into the stream and bury the grass they'd touched to keep the camp from stinking. She rolled the hook and twine are the fishing pole and leaned that against the tent-pole, and repacked Jaeden's cooking supplies and her medical kit. Once the grass of the clearing was smooth and empty again, she surveyed it with a satisfied little smile.

She took the time to plunge herself into the cold stream and give herself a thorough washing with the harsh soap she had in her own pack, skin and hair both, which took a while since her hair hadn't been washed in much too long. It was a fight just to get a comb through it, but she finally managed it. Squeaky clean and feeling better for it, she packed up her things and then sat by the fire to let herself dry in the warmth of its dying embers.

Sometime during the night, the wolf slipped into Jaeden's tent and snuggled up next to him, sighing contentedly as she settled down to sleep.

[Jaeden Kincade]

Early next morning, before the sun had even began peaking above the horizon, Jaeden's eyes fluttered open. He slowly looked over to the coat of fur lying beside him as Miharu's side slowly rise and fall in a content sleep. He slowly reached out, about to slide his hand along that coat of fur, and then paused before releasing a slow sigh. He rose form his bedroll, feeling the slow ache of pain rising in his leg as he struggled and fought back grunts of pain, slipping out of the tent without rousing the Kelvic from her peaceful sleep. He stepped outside, slowly gazing over the work she had done last night as a depressed look fell over his face, and his gaze dipped to the ground. He slowly limped over, grabbing Miharu's dress from where she had left it, and laid it inside the tent for her to put on when she roused. He didn't wake her himself, but would let her sleep in as long as she liked before breaking the news to her. Instead, Jaeden simply walked over towards the fallen log along side the camp, and began gathering his things and putting them together as he prepared to break camp. Finally, cutting away a long wooden branch from a nearby tree, he sat down along the log, and began fashioning himself a walking stick for the journey.

[Miharu Mindi]

It was another two bells before Miharu finally emerged from the tent, dressed and surprisingly clean. She looked almost civilized, her long blond hair still sleek from last night's washing, all traces of dirt washed from her pale skin.

"Good morning!" she said with a bright smile, skipping across the clearing to where he'd seated himself. "Would you like some tea? I think I have some of that bark left," she said, glancing around...

...and seemed to realize that something about the camp was different. It took her a moment, and then wide golden eyes turned back down to him in confusion. "Are we leaving already? I thought you said you wanted to heal up first?"

[Jaeden Kincade]

He slowly released a sigh, as he looked at Miharu, a sadness in his eyes that hadn't been seen yet before. "Miharu, have a seat please," Jaeden then requested as he grasped the walking stick with both hands, leaning forward into it slightly. When Miharu did so, Jaeden let an awkward silence pass over the area as he gazed around, as if trying to search for the right words to say. Finally, his head shook a little as he looked down into Miharu's eyes once again. "I've tended to notice that your demeanor towards me has changed significantly, in these past days," Jaeden said in a somber tone as he rocked back and forth slightly. "I know a little bit about the bond a Kelvic forms with another. I think it only fair to tell you, that I don't wish any bond of that kind. The last Kelvic that nearly bonded with me, was almost killed trying to protect me, and that's not a fate I wish to see upon you, upon anyone." Jaeden slowly rubbed his hand along his face, struggling with his own words. "I'm not a suitable person for any Kelvic to form a bond with," Jaeden said, giving a slow shake of his head. "I travel constantly, run into stuff blindly, tend to not even realize that I'm walking into a potential dangerous place while leisurely staring at clouds. Essentially, Miha, I'm a fool and a clutz. You can do much better than me."

[Miharu Mindi]

She settled down in her usual spot on the ground at his feet, but as he started talking the look of confusion grew deeper, became tinged with fear, and her spine stiffened as she tried to understand exactly what was going on.

"But... but you're the perfect kind of person for me," she stammered, leaning up and tangling one hand in his pant leg. "I like traveling, and hunting, and I'm good at keeping the camp taken care of! And... and you need someone like me, so that when you start to get yourself in trouble I can be there to warn you and protect you! Whatever... whatever other Kelvic you met, they were just not suited to you," she said desperately, leaning her cheek against his knee as any shamed pet would when trying to regain their master's good graces. "Please, I promise, I won't be any trouble. I'll be more careful and I won't ever get you hurt again, I swear! Just give me a chance," she said miserably, and some amount of her sadness at the thought of parting from him began working its way through the tenuous empathic bond that lay between them - and would need to be cut short now before it got any stronger, if that was his wish.