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"Hey, Sagani?"
Sagani knew what Edér was going to ask, but couldn't keep herself from replying, in the patient voice normally reserved for her children, "What do you want?"
"How'd you end up with a pet like Itumaak?"
Sagani gave the fox in question a bite of her stew while she tried to formulate an answer. "Well, Itumaak isn't my pet. He's my partner. Most of the hunters from my village had a partner for long hunts. They help us track, give us warmth and companionship, and we make sure they're fed and clean and happy." She shrugged and Itumaak took advantage of her distraction to steal another bite of her dinner. "He's family."
Edér puffed on his pipe in silence for a while, but Sagani knew he wasn't done yet. This wasn't the first time they'd had this conversation and she doubted it'd be the last. He was like a dog with a bone, gnawing away but not getting anywhere.
"How would someone like me get a partner like that?"
And there it was, the question he usually stopped himself from asking. Sagani chuckled, "Stick with Itumaak and me, I think maybe we can help you out."
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His first attempt went poorly. Very poorly.
Durance flat-out refused to heal him, grumbling about an inability to heal 'stupid,' so Edér was barely visible under the layers of bandages and poultices from Hiravias' and the Watcher's attempts at piecing him back together.
"You tried to hug a bear," Aloth said without looking up from his book.
"It seemed like a good idea at the time." Edér's voice was a little slurred from whatever had been given to him for pain relief, but he sounded pretty aware all things considered.
"What made you think wrapping your arms around a random wild bear would result in nye bit an earlie kist?" Aloth bit his tongue against the Hylspeak bleeding into his words.
"Not dead." Edér pointed out, then mumbled, quieter, "Not dead, right?"
Aloth sighed and put his book down. He finally turned to look at Edér. "No, not dead. And you'd better name your firstborn after the Watcher in gratitude for you're not being dead."
He stood up to leave. He approached the bed and gave Edér's shoulder a warm, albiet brief, squeeze. "Get some rest," he said, and then he left.
-------
The second time, Sagani was there and it went better. Not well, but better.
Between Sagani's gentle, soothing words and Edér's slow, careful movements, he managed to walk safely within arm's reach of an adolescent grizzly. Even young as it was, it towered over him, sniffing curiously at the grinning, armored man before it; still, it made no move to attack as Edér reached out to touch it.
It's mother, on the other hand, had a different opinion.
Mama Grizzly chased them for nearly ten minutes, following the sound of Edér's gleeful laughter and Sagani's loud, angry, and very creative swearing.
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The third time, it wasn't actually a bear.
They were deep in the Valewood following a barely-there trail when a noise got Edér's attention. He motioned for the others to wait and stepped into the thick underbrush, Sagani and Itumaak at his heels.
They rounded a corner and came face to face with a huge, growling beast. Sagani raised her bow, but Edér lifted a hand. "Wait a sec," he muttered, and after a moment of hesitation she lowered her weapon.
Edér look a slow step forward and the beast locked eyes on him with a deep warning growl. He held his hands up placatingly and said, in his best calming voice, the one he used when the Watcher had really bad nightmares, "Hey, big fella. You're okay. I'm not gonna hurt ya."
He took another step and the beast just… deflated. It slumped down low to the forest floor, whimpering forlornly but allowing Edér to finish approaching.
It was a dog. A huge, shaggy brown dog with shoulders that came up to Edér's ribs and was probably part-bear, but a dog nontheless.
It was also hurt, one of its back legs stuck in a bear trap and blood matted in its fur. It gave a half-assed growl when Edér reached for it, but had exhausted itself with its display earlier and made no move to stop him.
He sent Sagani to get a healer while he pried the trap open enough for the dog to pull its leg out. It laid down next to him, some measure of trust in its big brown eyes, and Edér couldn't resist reaching out and giving its ears a little scratch. The dog's tail thumped happily against the dirt and Edér laughed. "There you go, buddy. You're gonna be okay."
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A bit of druidic healing magic later and Edér and his new friend sat by the campfire enjoying some warm rabbit stew.
Hiravias and Sagani had given the dog a cursory examination; she was about a year old, a Vailian breed made for hunting bears and staelgar, and, baffingly, was probably not done growing yet. "That's all right," Edér said with a grin, "I'll get her her own bed once we get back to Caed Nua."
After dinner, Edér pulled out his pipe and the dog laid her head in his lap with a content huff. She hadn't left his side since he'd removed that trap, wouldn't let him out of her sight, but he didn't mind.
"So I guess she decided to keep you," said Sagani. She sat across the fire from him, Itumaak curled up at her feet. "What's her name?"
Edér grinned and scratched the dog's ears. "Bear."