The mood of our trio became increasingly tense as we got closer to reuniting with the others. It wasn’t because Pen was on guard or anxious. As long as she got to accompany Nasha wherever she went, the feline seemed satisfied and at ease.

  It was Nasha who was looking more and more hesitant at the prospect of our journey’s conclusion. I even noticed Pen subtly pressing herself closer to the beagle and starting to purr. I found it rather amusing that this actually succeeded in alleviating a bit of Nasha’s anxiety.

  “…which is where I learned better techniques for frying larger dishes, and…”

  Ritsu’s voice reached us moments before we stepped into the clearing where we’d left them. As soon as we emerged from the trees, I looked at Kiri to find her already looking at me. Our eyes met briefly, and then her gaze swept across the cat and the dog. Her lips twitched ever so slightly in an expression that would have been a beaming smile on the face of anyone else.

  If Nasha hadn’t confirmed it already, this would have been my decisive clue. Kiri not only knew what was going on between the beagle and the lynx, but she approved of it.

  I found this quite confusing. Though I hadn’t spent much time observing the interaction of Kiri and Nasha, I knew the Winter fae cared about the beagle. I had assumed that she would be at least mildly disapproving of the creature who had hurt her friend.

  Apparently not. In fact, her eyes softened in an interesting way when she looked at the feline.

  My curiosity was now fully piqued. I would need to obtain a moment of Kiri’s time in the near future so I could ask her a few questions.

  “We are back,” I called, cutting off Ritsu.

  I shifted my focus to the startled fox and decided at once that I didn’t need to worry about him. Ritsu didn’t look like someone plotting to get away so he could cause some mischief about the runaway Winter Royal he’d discovered. While he did appear exhausted enough to require rescuing from the conversation, he also seemed ready to fight off any would-be rescuers for the chance to keep talking to Kiri.

  I would have to consult with Alys later to confirm. My dragoness was very observant when she wanted to be. But for the moment, I felt like I could set aside the kitsune matter safely.

  Which was good, since I now had a beagle and a lynx to deal with.

  “Is there something you’d like to say, Nasha?” I urged gently.

  “T-This is Penelope,” Nasha managed to squeak, her voice slowly gaining strength. “She is my friend! She doesn’t have anywhere else to go, so I want to get the elders to accept her into the town. She can… live with me!”

  The beagle stuttered a little, flushing as the feline sent her a happy grin.

  Kiri nodded at Pen, and Ritsu rushed out a mildly confused greeting, but Alys narrowed her eyes at the new face with quiet contemplation. It was a tense moment before she smiled.

  “Pleasure to meet you, Penelope. It’s always nice to see Nasha make more friends.”

  The lynx nodded back at the dragoness solemnly.

  Nasha let out a breath she’d been holding, then forged onwards. “Can I ask for your support, maybe? I’m not sure I can convince the elders on my own, and it would mean a lot.”

  “Of course.” Kiri’s agreement was almost suspiciously quick, but again, I set that aside for the moment.

  Alys, meanwhile, glanced at me just long enough to catch my subtle nod. Then she turned back to the beagle. “I can do that. Not sure how much it will help, but I will support you.”

  “Thank you.” Nasha slumped in relief as her tail finally started to whip around in its customary manner.

  I had taken such shows of exuberance in the beagle for granted. It was only today, when I’d seen her tail sadly drooping, that I realized how much I missed her usual demeanor. It was unnatural for her to be in such a horrible mood.

  I never wanted to see her like that again.

  “In that case, how about we start heading back to town?” I suggested, now even more determined to help her press the elders on the issue of Pen. “On the way, these two can tell us a little more about how they met, and their… friendship.”

  A shiver of unease raced through Nasha’s whole body. She glared at me like I’d betrayed her.

  I just grinned smugly. She should have known a fae’s assistance is never free! I would get my payment in teasing and watching her squirm.

  My first reward appeared as soon as we started back. I snickered inwardly while Nasha floundered, searching for a way to tell Alys that her ‘friend’ had almost killed her in their first meeting…

  —

  We walked into the Hall as a much calmer group.

  Ritsu had taken to following Kiri like a puppy who didn’t quite know how to catch the attention of the object of his affection. Pen just looked content to be next to Nasha. The beagle herself had burned through most of her anxiety, I think.

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  There was a limit to how much sway such emotions could hold before they peaked and fizzled out, and Nasha had clearly hit that limit. It had come when Alys refused to get angry over the beagle’s explanation about her injuries. Instead, the dragoness had spent the rest of the journey grinning toothily at the feline, and Nasha’s nerves had visibly eased.

  I, of course, knew that Alys was actually livid. Every muscle in her body had tensed during Nasha’s story, and her hand in mine had briefly tightened to uncomfortable levels. Yet I also knew she recognized that Pen’s situation wasn’t ideal, so she had chosen psychological warfare over growling and snarling.

  What really amused me was the fact that the feline seemed entirely unaffected by Alys’ strategy, while Nasha had been pushed into a burned-out calm.

  Come to think of it… are dragons just very large sky-cats?

  Smiling inwardly at this idle thought, I swept my eyes over the Hall. It was mostly empty at this time of day, since there were plenty of daylight hours left for working.

  Then I caught sight of Grafton and froze. Once more, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

  The human elder looked better. Significantly better.

  I had known my nutritional supplements would be effective, mind, but less than a day had passed since I handed those over to him. It shouldn’t have been possible for a difference to show already.

  Yet there he was. His cheeks weren’t quite so sunken anymore. The bags under his eyes had mostly retreated. His complexion no longer reminded me of a corpse.

  He also looked far more aware and alert. This could easily be either a good or a horrible thing, considering we were there to pester the elders about Pen.

  “Oh, it’s you.” Arandel’s cold voice snapped me out of my consideration of Grafton. Glancing over, I found the elven cook sending Ritsu a look of pure disappointment. “Back from the forest, I see.”

  Something told me she’d been secretly hoping that the fox would encounter a direbear.

  “Of course! I could not stay away from such a fine kitchen for long.” Ritsu grinned mischievously, that spark of chaos returning to his eyes. Then he glanced at Kiri, and his shoulders sagged slightly. In a much more subdued tone, he went on, “May I request the use of your kitchen for a little while? I promise not to get in your way.”

  The sincerity in Ritsu’s voice clearly caught Arandel off-guard. She looked at the fox like she was seeing him for the very first time. There was a moment of tense silence before the elf reluctantly nodded her head once.

  “Thank you. I will repay this favor shortly. For now, please excuse me. I wish to cook something for my new friends.” Ritsu gestured at our group with a smile and started to walk away before pausing. “I will restrain myself to cooking only for my new friends.”

  Arandel was already surprised, but this parting comment left her utterly staggered. By the time she had recovered sufficiently to form a reply, the kitsune had left the range of polite conversation.

  “What happened to him?” she demanded, turning to us with a furrowed brow. Then she glimpsed the newcomer. Her need to be a good host superseded her quarrel with the fox, and she beamed. “Oh! And who is this?”

  “Pen,” the feline purred.

  “I am delighted to meet you, Pen! I would offer you food, but… the fox said he would take care of that.”

  Pen perked up, her ears twitching wildly. “Food? Food is nice.” She sniffed, then briefly leaned closer to Arandel. “You cook! Nasha bring tasty food! Would like.”

  She nodded several times, like she had delivered a dose of profound wisdom. Arandel’s conflicted smile instantly grew to something much more genuine.

  “Well! In that case, I’ll get you a little something to tide you over until the fox is done cooking,” Arandel assured Pen.

  As the elven cook hurried away, Alys and I stared at the feline. Pen had just spoken more, and more articulately, than I’d witnessed since meeting her. It was deeply amusing that her mastered vocabulary seemed to focus on food.

  Nasha was wriggling with pride. “See? I told you Pen’s been learning quickly! We’ll all be chatting in no time! Though… I’m picking up her language a lot slower,” the beagle groused.

  The lynx rubbed their cheeks together before Nasha’s mood could actually fall.

  “I admit I am impressed, yes,” I said with a smile. Then I nodded towards the elders, who weren’t even trying to pretend they weren’t watching us. “Now, shall we tackle what we came here to do?”

  “Yes!” Nasha declared with false confidence, betrayed by her suddenly trembling ears and tail.

  “Hey. Look at me.” Alys placed her hand on the beagle’s shoulder. “Everything is going to be fine. We are here to back you up. They will let Pen stay.”

  Nasha squeezed the hand on her shoulder briefly, her eyes almost watering at the show of support. Then she gathered herself and marched towards the elders with Pen in tow. The feline was still adorably clutching both her beagle and her blankets while her gaze swept warily over the elders.

  As we followed, I saw the exact moment Grafton looked up and stopped shoveling food into his face. I decided I didn’t want to give the elder a chance to be unpleasant.

  Rushing ahead of the group, I exclaimed, “I see my supplements are doing their job well. You look better already, honored elder.”

  His full attention immediately snapped to me, even as Ferlis sighed in a manner reminiscent of a man’s final breath escaping his lungs.

  “You think you are funny, don’t you, brat?” Grafton hissed.

  “I assure you, I have no idea what you are talking about,” I replied smoothly.

  “Oh really? Had fun slipping those special things into my food, did you?”

  I carefully kept my lips from twitching into a smirk. “Special things? I am afraid you will need to be a bit more specific, honored elder. I put a lot of different ingredients into those supplements.”

  “You know damn well what I’m talking about, you —”

  “Grafton,” Ferlis cut in, cold as Winter’s cruelest winds. “Be polite.”

  The human elder gritted his teeth, but he did fall silent.

  The wendigo bowed slightly in my direction. “My husband merely had a bit of trouble with some of the supplements. Apparently, their taste was particularly potent.”

  “Oh! Those!” I exclaimed, innocently as you please. “I included a few supplements packed with ingredients that encourage efficient digestion. I assure you, they are very helpful.”

  This was true… even if I’d only thought of that excuse after making them.

  Nasha was now standing rigidly in front of the elders’ table, so I pushed two chairs together and then gently pressured her and the feline into them. Alys and I claimed chairs on their right, while Kiri pulled up a chair to their left.

  I paused for a moment before sitting and gestured to the lynx. “Elders, allow me to introduce Nasha’s friend Penelope.”

  Then I sat next to Pen, who glanced at me curiously.

  I simply smiled. Grafton was still grumbling under his breath, but my goal was achieved.

  The elders were so focused on me that they’d barely blinked at the sudden appearance of a stranger at their table. I had managed to remind them subtly of my importance to the community in general and Grafton in particular. Ferlis, at least, would now be much more inclined to agree to anything I might request.

  We were heading into a negotiation, and I’d just ensured that my side had the initiative.