|
What a funny little boy...Grimm thought, though happy to please his mistress. She was so preoccupied with getting the Innkeeper's attention that she missed the friendly, gesturing greetings of the boy. He is more playful than my lady! Grimm wagged his tail and smiled, in his own toothy way at the boy, who spoke to another lady and man for a moment. Grimm looked up at Kellan, who had propped her elbows upon her table and put her head in her hands. But she is weary. Humans get this way sometimes, when they travel for long days without rest. Not like my kin. She will be herself if she does not watch the sky tonight, as she wishes, and sleeps instead.
Grimm watched the boy come nearer to him, and the big black dog rolled over onto his back, wagging his tail and nodding his head. His tail thumped against his Mistress' leg, and she looked down at her dog and then to the boy. She smiled weakly, not sure of his intentions. She knew he was but a boy, but Kellan had learned many, many times that people were not always what they seemed, and she had made many costly mistakes in learning the lesson. The boy came forward slowly, looking tentatively up at Kellan before crouching low to rub Grimm's stomach.
"What is your name?" Kellan asked bluntly with a smile upon her face, but she spoke in a soft tone that only she, the boy, and the dog could hear. "I am sure that Grimm would like to know it."
|