<102>

	The bear quickly batted the owl away, but the damage was done.  Blind and injured, the bear thrashed about harder, but simply could not throw Drenan from its back.  The bull’s grip grew firmer, and with a final cry he threw his weight backwards, dug his hooves into the ground, and jerked his gripped arms with all his might.

	The bear’s neck snapped, and it knew no further misery.

	The bull’s chest heaved as he dropped the lifeless bear, turning his attention to the owl who’d fallen not far from their fight.  New gashes had appeared upon its chest, but the owl’s eyes fixed themselves upon Drenan to prove that it was still very much alive.  It made no further shrieking, though avian whimpers appeared to rumble from its chest.

	Drenan arched his brow empathetically.  “Easy,” he spoke aloud and walked slowly toward the owl, but it did not move.  The tauren dropped to one knee and softly touched the owl’s wounded chest.  Its blood flowed freely, and he was certain it wouldn’t survive without aid.  “Damn it… if Lyrah were here,” he rumbled, but his eye suddenly caught a sprig of herbs not far from the owl that he faintly recognized.  He’d seen a vial of them in Shele’s home, and one time she’d crushed some of the purple kingsblood up to heal a wound Soren had endured.  As quick as he could, Drenan snatched up the herbs, crunched them up in his hands, and gently pressed the makeshift mess onto the owl’s torso.  “Take it easy… this will heal you… I think.”

	The owl twitched and shrieked as he pressed its wound, but it did not lash out at Drenan.  Indeed, the violet color of the kingsblood faded into the wound, and within a few minutes it had closed and stopped the bleeding.  Drenan sighed with relief and released the owl, who suddenly hopped to its feet and tucked its wings to either side of its body.

	The bull eyed the owl curiously, and the creature strangely hopped closer to him.  He resisted the urge to raise a defensive arm, and to his surprise, the owl bowed its head within the bull’s reach.  “You’re welcome,” he found himself saying as he slowly reached out to touch the owl’s head, then gave it a series of slow, gentle scritches.

	The owl let out a gentle trill and happily leaned further into Drenan’s touch, until the large avian was practically rubbing its head against the bull’s chest.

	Drenan smiled wide.  The moment he’d seen it, something about the beast had called to him.  He couldn’t fully explain why he had helped the owl and not the bear, but the owl’s quiet affections were more than enough reassurance for him.  “Well… I suppose I should be off.  I have a long road ahead of me, you know.”

	The bull rose to his hooves and bowed to the owl, then began to walk southward once more.  The shuffling of grass behind him gave him pause, and he turned to find the owl hopping along behind him as if it was the most natural thing in the world.  The owl froze and spun its head clockwise a quarter turn as it looked at him innocently.

	“Truly?” he said, his words laced with surprise.  “You wish to accompany me?”

	The owl hopped from side to side for a moment, then hooted its confirmation.

	Drenan placed his hands on his hips, surprised at the owl’s ability to communicate, or at least his ability to understand the beast.  “Well I cannot have a traveling companion without knowing its name,” he rumbled, prompting the owl to half-beat its wings with excitement.  He was not familiar with avian anatomy by any means, but curiously he took a stick and drew two symbols in the dirt; one for male, and one for female.  “Do you understand?”

	The owl quickly hopped forward, stuck out the foot that was missing a talon, and raked across the sign for ‘female’.

	A chuckle of surprise escaped him.  “Very well.  That does not surprise me.  You look like a… Kacheya to me.  What do you think?”

	Another trill, albeit a little less enthusiastic, came from the black owl.  As if to make up for it, the owl quickly hopped forward and nuzzled the side of Drenan’s leg.

	The two of them set off together this time, with Kacheya keeping pace well, despite hopping across the ground next to Drenan.  The bull somehow felt more at peace with his new companion nearby, and he began to speak aloud as if the beast could understand him.  The owl did appear to listen to every rambling word, and by dusk the pair had made camp not far from a steep wall of cliffs and small mountain peaks.

	In another small clearing, Drenan gathered another successful catch of fish, several of which he tossed to Kacheya to devour.  By meal’s end, Drenan laid back down upon the grass to stare up into the night sky, but this time his owl companion hopped over and gently laid one of its large wings across his bare chest.  Drenan smiled all the more as his eyes closed, and a faint whisper teased the back of his mind.

	[i]’A parting gift.  I never have, nor will, truly ever leave you.’[/i]

* * * * *

	On the seventh day, Drenan and Kacheya passed the border into the Stonetalon Mountains.  Dense forest gave way to open expanses of orange, barren ground, and much of the cover of trees was now gone.  Kacheya had gradually taken to perching herself upon Drenan’s left shoulder as they walked, but she had yet to take flight due to her still-healing wounds.  “An’she guide us…” Drenan rumbled as he looked out over the sunken valleys between the massive mountains.  “It is a saying of my people, but it is not one I feel rings true for me any longer.”

	The owl hooted softly and nuzzled the bull’s broken horn for reassurance.
