Kai advanced along the dirt path with the sword resting on one shoulder while the trees opened and closed on both sides of the path like an irregur wall of trunks and leaves.

  The vilge had already been left behind for a while, but even so a part of his mind kept returning to it again and again. ‘I left her in Ivark’s hands…’ he thought as his gaze scanned the path ahead.

  ‘She’s not weak. She’s not useless either. But commanding is one thing. Keeping all those she-cats calm when I’m not there is another.’ He exhaled through his nose without stopping his pace.

  It bothered him to admit it, but a part of his authority in the vilge still depended too much on his physical presence. It wasn’t enough to give orders and have them obeyed once. They had to keep functioning even without seeing him.

  If not, everything he had built could vanish the moment he disappeared for a few days.

  Katherine walked to his left with a small bag of provisions hanging from her shoulder. Sira went on the other side, with somewhat lighter steps, moving her tail with that rexed rhythm that always gave Kai the feeling that she was in a good mood even if she was plotting something.

  Kai was about to think about the vilge again when he noticed something strange on the sides. He turned his head slightly. Katherine had gotten a little too close. Sira had too. He frowned slightly.

  Katherine adjusted the strap of the bag without asking permission. “Master, that was slipping,” she said with a small smile as she slowly withdrew her hand.

  Sira raised an eyebrow instantly and then pressed a little closer on the other side. “What a coincidence,” she said in a soft tone as she removed a leaf from Kai’s shoulder with her fingertips.

  “Just now I also saw something to fix,” said Katherine. Kai observed them out of the corner of his eye without stopping his walk. ‘Ah no. I get it.’ Katherine moved her ears back and looked sideways at Sira.

  “I was just helping,” she murmured with a slight tension in her voice as she adjusted the bag better. Sira smiled without looking away from her. “Me too,” she replied while shaking the leaf in the air as if she had performed a very important task.

  Kai kept walking a few more steps in silence. ‘Perfect. I left a vilge full of problems behind only to now carry another kind of problem right in front of my face,’ thought Kai.

  Katherine sped up a little to end up half a step ahead of Sira. “Master needs someone responsible during the trip,” she said while raising her chin slightly.

  Sira let out a small ugh and crossed her arms under her chest. “And he also needs someone fun,” she replied while tilting her head with a pyful expression.

  “Not everything in life is about making a serious face and moving your ears as if someone owed you something,” said Sira. Katherine fixed her gaze on her. “At least I don’t spend my time looking for any excuse to hang off him.” Sira opened her mouth a little with fake surprise. “Me? How cruel you are,” she said, pcing a hand on her chest.

  “I’m just a devoted subordinate.” Kai let air escape through his nose. It no longer went unnoticed by him. The two of them were competing in such an obvious way that even he, who was not exactly the most skilled with these topics, could see it without effort.

  Katherine tried to show herself useful. Sira tried to call his attention in a shameless way. And both of them measured every gesture of the other as if they were in a silent war. “Both of you can lower the intensity a little,” said Kai without looking at them directly as he advanced between roots that protruded from the earth.

  Katherine turned her head toward him immediately. “I’m calm,” she said with a small stiffness in her back. “She’s the one who started it.” Sira opened her hands with exaggerated innocence.

  “Master, you’re judging me unfairly,” she said, getting half a step closer to Kai. “I’m just trying to make the trip pleasant.” Katherine let out a small click with her tongue. “Yeah, sure.” Sira moved one ear and smiled. “Does it bother you?” Katherine barely showed her teeth. “A little.”

  Kai was going to respond something when a dry crack came from the bushes on the right. All three gazes moved at the same time. The atmosphere changed in a second. Katherine tensed her body. Sira took a step back and then to the side to get a better angle.

  Kai lowered the sword from his shoulder and held it firmly. From the thicket emerged a quadruped figure the size of a small calf. It had its back covered in dark gray fur, long and slender legs, and a mouth too wide to be normal.

  Its eyes reflected simple animal aggression.

  It was not an especially impressive monster, but it was the type of creature that could become annoying if it appeared in a group. And, as if the forest wanted to confirm the idea, a second crack sounded on the left. Then another behind them.

  Kai narrowed his eyes. “Wolves,” he murmured as he turned his torso slightly. Katherine flexed her fingers, letting her sharp cws show. “And it’s not just one coming,” she said, lowering her center of gravity a little.

  Sira smiled sideways while her tail swayed slowly. “How timely,” she commented without taking her eyes off the bushes. “Just when we were starting to have fun.”