Leo and the fenrir howled
“Do you mind, Mr. Takumi?”
“If Leo says that it’s all right, then please let her carry you.”
Now I have avoided the pleasant but awkward experience of being crammed into a carriage!
I thanked Leo with my eyes, and she shook her head and sighed… Surely there was no need to look that exasperated…
And like that, Ms. Claire and I and the fenrir got into the carriage.
While we were still close together, there was a lot more room than when there were three of us.
As this was the first time for the fenrir to ride in a carriage, it was looking around anxiously. But it eventually settled down between us and rested.
“Hehe. I suppose it likes that spot.”
“It must like narrow spaces. You know, that feeling of being stuck to something as if you fit in perfectly.”
“Is that what it is?”
…With dogs… I think they feel safe when being in tight spaces. But I didn’t know a lot about that.
Though, when Leo was small, she often slept in the gaps in the couch.
“Now, let us depart.”
Sebastian said, and the carriage began to move.
At the same time, the guards and the butlers that were waiting by the edge of the forest also departed towards the mansion.
…Wait? That other butler. He was riding the same kind of carriage as me…
Maybe I should have rode in that one?
Riding with a man would not have been more enjoyable, but it would have been less potentially embarrassing than riding with Ms. Claire and Lyra… I think.
I had made a mistake.
As I thought of such things, the fenrir looked at my face and barked.
…Well, at least there was this cute face to also keep me company…
Just like Ms. Claire, I was not immune to the fenrir’s charm.
The carriage continued to rock as we moved farther away from the forest and towards the mansion.
And just like on the way here, we stopped at the halfway point on the road in order to rest.
“Hehehe. It is lively.”
After we got out of the carriage in order to stretch our limbs, the fenrir began to run around the tree that Ms. Claire was resting under.
It really was energetic.
Sometimes it would scamper towards Leo, who was resting next to me, and they would start barking as if having a conversation.
After they had talked, the fenrir would then return to Ms. Claire and start running again.
“What were you talking about?”
I asked Leo while watching the fenrir.
Leo tilted her head to the side once and then barked happily.
Hmm… Something about…fun?
Well, if the fenrir was having fun, then I was glad that we had taken it with us.
“We should start heading back soon.”
Sebastian said to everyone who was resting, and so we returned to the carriage.
Ms. Claire and I entered the same carriage that Sebastian was driving, and the fenrir sat between us.
“It really does seem to enjoy sitting there?”
“Hahaha. It looks like it.”
The fenrir sounded like it was agreeing with us.
It really did seem to understand humans, just like Leo.
But were all fenrirs …?
As I wondered about it, Sebastian held the reins and the carriage began to move.
Ms. Claire and I pet the fenrir and played with it as we headed towards the mansion.
As for Ms. Lyra, who was riding on Leo, she had decided to go in the other carriage after resting.
She had been delighted to ride on Leo at first, but since Leo would often run faster than the horses and go off in random directions, she must have become a little tired.
And since she had been in charge of cooking during the whole expedition, she was probably very tired. So I was glad that she would be able to relax in the carriage on the way back.
Though, it was my fault for hesitating to go into the carriage in the first place.
The sun was starting to set, and by the time the beautiful colors of evening shone on the horizon, we arrived at the mansion.
What was surprising to me, was that just before moving through the gates, Leo suddenly turned towards the sun and began to howl.
The horses were also very alarmed by this, but the soldiers were used to handling them, and so they were able to calm them down quickly.
Leo’s howl echoed into the distance.
As Leo howled towards the setting sun a few times, the fenrir, who had been lying drowsily between Ms. Clarie and I, suddenly got up and began to howl as if in answer to Leo.
It almost sounded like they were communicating. There would be pauses as they alternated. And then when they were done, Leo rubbed her cheek against the horses that pulled the carriage, as if to apologize for startling them.
As for the fenrir, it let out a short ‘Kyau’ in apology and then went straight back to sleeping between us.
…What on earth was that…?
“I wonder what came over Leo?”
“I thought that something must have happened. After all, a Silver Fenrir is howling.”
“…Hmm. I’m pretty sure there is some meaning to it…”
But what was it…? I think it had something to do with marking their territory or calling members of the pack that had become separated.
Regardless, it was some form of communication.
“Perhaps it was talking to the fenrir.”
“Indeed…it did sound like they were talking.”
“Is that right, Leo?”
The carriages and horses had all stopped during the howling so the horses could calm down.
And so I asked Leo as she comforted them, and she turned to look at me and tilted her head.
“It kind of sounded like you were talking to the fenrir.”
“Wuff. Wuff-wuff. Wou-wuff-wuff.”
Leo nodded once and then started to explain.