Chapter 10 - Kai- A New Home

I walked all that night, up over the ridge, then another, gaining altitude the entire time. Skylar was asleep most of the way, hanging by the scruff of her tiny neck from my mouth. I was full of grief from Jings death, but it would have to wait. For Skylars sake, we had to find a home, achieve some sort of stability. That horrible fire had long since smoldered out from the rain (which was still pouring down) and I could only see a slight glow from the embers over the hills behind me.
At a point about an hour after my ears had popped, and the morning was starting to fade into noon (and when the stupid rain had stopped), did I stop to rest. In a clearing surrounded by thickets of bushy plants, I sat down and set Skylar down in front of me, careful not to wake her. I was completely exhausted, curling up around my pup; I started to drift into sleep. Suddenly there was a slight rustling of leaves that snapped me awake.
I stood up, pushing skylark between my knees as a large male walked into the clearing, nose to the ground. I knew the dangers of a big foreign male, if he was in a bad temperament, he would kill skylark, and as for me? Well that might be inappropriate for some of our younger readers. I snarled and let out a feral growl and a satisfyingly threatening bark. He yelped slightly in surprise, jumping up he shifted to a human form. He was set into a defense posture, but as he landed his right leg collapsed. He was cursing a blue streak as he scrambled back up to face me.
Surprisingly enough, it turned out that the big male I had been so worried about was actually a kid. He was about thirteen, maybe fourteen, and about two inches shorter than me. He was pale, apparently from recent blood loss and the dark circles under his eyes said he didn’t get enough sleep. He didn’t seem to be a threat, even if he was hostile, but I didn’t let down my guard.
There was an uncomfortable stalemate that seemed to last about a minute, neither one of us daring to move. Finally he lowered his head slightly, and grew out his tail, slightly wagging just the tip of it. Interesting, he was submitting. He had given me control of the situation. He was obviously in no shape for fighting. What happened next threw me for a loop however, His eyes fell on Skylar, still hiding behind me, then looked back up nito mine. Their deep yellow color sent a chill down my spine, but they showed understanding, compassion perhaps.
“Do you need a place to stay?” He asked.

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