Last stop.

"I live right here, please come in."

He gestured to a house which seemed unkept and barely used. It looked like bad news. My fur stood on edge as I scanned each crevice and corner. The floor was sturdy as I took a step in, the ground underneath solid.

"I haven't been here for some time, I apologize for the mess. I like to travel."

The air was filled with dust, the inside dusky but seemed oddly comfortable. Tools and herbs were scattered on the many tables in the single room.

"I'll go get the medical supplies, it's upstairs. Wait here."

I sat down, eyeing him as he made his way up. When he was out of view I began searching the area for anything out of the ordinary. The herbs were all ordinary and would only be used for medicines. I recognized many from the forest.

A book laid open, an image on the page caught my attention, it was an illustration of light going from one body to another. It was strange, the letters had no meaning to me so I couldn't tell what it was talking about. A thump on the floorboards directly above me made me lurch forward.

I circled around to aim at the stairs and stood out of sight near it. I had no idea what he would bring down. I readied myself for anything.

His footsteps were heavy going down the stairs, he was holding something. It was medical equipment, bandages and tubes in a huge box. In a mere second I heard the boards crack and leaped to his aid. He was going to fall forward. I threw my front paws up and pushed against the box to steady him.

"Are you alright?"

I felt genuine worry for him as I helped him out of the stairs which had completely crashed underneath him.

"Yes, it seems this house is quite unsafe now. Thank you for saving me, let me get you fixed up."

He sat me down on a carpet and began cleaning my wound and bandaging it. He took samples of my saliva, hair and blood. The pricks of the needles felt like nothing and before the sun moved in the sky he was done.

"You're done, I need to be off now though."

"Before you go, explain this to me." I walked over to the book.

"Ah yes, the theory of drifting souls. There's only been one before. The first intelligent, they invented a bonding method for humans to create intelligent animals." He paused momentarily, looking at me, "That's why I'm so interested in you, I hope we can meet again."

He gave me one last gentle smile as he exited the house, leaving the door hanging open.

His action annoyed me, he was leaving a lot of information out. I needed more. I ran out and saw him get onto a carriage. The markings certainly weren't ordinary. A horse that stood on it's hind legs. Odd, maybe they were all marked.

I took one last look then turned to head back to the warrior.