A shadow the color of the earth rose from the stubborn weeds and rocky landscape. Larkspur turned his ears back to the approach, but did not otherwise turn. He was not certain of how to treat the man he now called leader, for until recently Sirius had only been a babysitter and Eris’ teacher to him. Now, though, things had changed. He glanced back at his new title, though kept those fire-hued eyes lowered as best he could. He was much taller than Sirius, and it was difficult to try and appear lower than him. The odd greeting was given without enthusiasm, though it was recognized as something he needed to perform.
Once given, he drew back to study the aforementioned sheep. “Mostly well, Boss,” he found the term fell oddly from his mouth, unsure of it. Using English was still difficult, but he was improving greatly from what it had been when he had first arrived. While his odd mountain accent remained, muddled with the trace of German, he was learning how to imitate tone. This process had been slow, but a year was quick for an adult who had spoken nothing but the holy tongue for years.
“I found a dead one earlier,” he said, a trace of irritation in his tone. “Thing was torn apart, mostly gone. Looked like bear tracks near it,” he explained, knowing a wolf would be smart enough to take the kill away. Bears were stupid things that believed their size made them invincible. Even someone as large as Larkspur, who was certainly capable of outweighing a small black bear, had little desire to take one on. He had seen what grizzlies were capable of in the Khalif, and the memory stuck with him vividly. The sheep’s corpse, half-missing, was a fair reminder of such a thing.
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