254
Nian’s ready acceptance of Claudiuses suggestions made the rest of his anxiety subside for a moment. Even though he had not ventured in this direction in a long time, if ever, he was feeling a lot better about himself now that he knew Nian wasn’t going to laugh at him like Attila would have. Claudius liked this about Nian: he was not condescending, and Claudius suspected that if he did say something wrong – which he hoped he wouldn’t – Nian wouldn’t take it as an opportunity to make fun of him.
Claudius nodded quickly in response and gave Nian a big grin. He was right! It was a lovely feeling. Perhaps all that reading had paid off for something. Nian scurried to the corner of his den and found some thin rope and then gestured to the ledge overhanging his den. Although it looked a bit scary, he was a lot taller than he had been when he was a puppy and the fall didn’t scare him as much as it would have. He nodded again and trotted around the back of Nian’s den to climb on top of the ledge. He scrambled to the top of the ledge and tried not to think about how new, strange, and kind of scary this was.
“Okay, I’m ready. Pass me the rope when you have the branches ready.” He held out his hand over the ledge, but didn't keep it outstretched. He relaxed it and let it hang off the ledge so he didn't look impatient.