Stavanger Bay 8 dogs 8 banjos (Optional Packtivity)

Last post from me! Kind of glossing over the end of the Den Night; @Chusi and @Arturo, feel free to powerplay Szymon and Lotte from here on out. Basically, Szymon is going to take Chusi to Donnelaith after the Den Night, and Lotte [known as Kitku here] will finish her conversation and escort him there.

Szymon was content to listen as the nameless bard sang accompaniment to the cadence of his wife’s sprightly paws. His attention was riveted on her, his auriferous eyes fixed and possessive as they traced her lissome musculature, and now and again his posture shifted with the turn of his head as he tried to see around the other dancing bodies that obscured his view. Only @Qilaq could draw his attention away from the sight of the birdlike witch doctor. Shifting his body to accommodate her smaller form, he sheltered her protectively. “Look at your Amayo, Qilaq,” he crooned with fondness, preening the small girl’s nape and shoulder with open affection. “Would you like to learn how to dance like her?” The stutter, by this point, was nearly nonexistent around Qilaq and Doe. He sometimes got the impression that Qilaq liked to be talked to even if she didn’t always respond verbally — and whether or not that was true, he decided to just keep talking lest she feel ignored or unsettled by the large crowd. “If you want, Appeh will try to learn with you,” he promised like an idiot. The very idea of learning how to dance was nearly terrifying to Szymon, but for his girls, he would.

Tipping back his head, he howled appreciation when @Chusi’s story came to a close. He hoped she would be happy in Donnelaith and was not sorry to have taken her, even if she could not find a permanent home in Chateau Dozzle. Seeing the way Arturo and Lotte had taken to the girl, Szymon knew that she would have allies wherever she chose to stay. “Littling,” he said to Qilaq, using Doe’s word for their daughter, “when this night is over I will have to t-t-take a small trip — but I will c-come home before morning.” He did not elaborate; he didn’t wish for either Qilaq or Chusi to feel threatened or hurt, though both had ample reason. Just as Doe and Qilaq belonged to Szymon, so too did he belong to them — and a significant chunk of his evening would be taken up by the trip to take Chusi to Donnelaith and help her settle in and find somewhere safe to sleep. In the same vein, Chusi was being plucked from the wilderness by one pack only to be immediately delivered to another. Thus, when he finished grooming Qilaq and ensuring her safety and comfort, he turned to his ocher-eyed foundling.

“Chusi,” he said, “when you are ready, I w-will t-t-take you to the forest — and K-K-Kitku will join us. T-Take all the time you wish.”