Wow, quite the break I took.
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Typan woke in the morning as she returned to her human form. The shifting had stirred Maude and the woman rolled over with a wince to look at Typan.
"Mornin' child," she said through a yawn.
Typan mumbled back before shifting around. She realized that though she had her pants on, she had no shirt or breast band. Wrapping her blanket around her, Typan listened for sounds of the camp waking up, but heard none. It had been a late night for all. Even Maude had fallen back asleep.
The tent flap made no sound as Typan opened it to look out into the foggy dawn. In the trees she heard the muffled sound of a pair of sentries on patrol and the calls of the dawn birds. Assured no one would see, Typan sprinted to the cliff wall and scaled it quickly with the strength and speed that she carried in both forms.
Once in her cave and dressed, Typan paused to look around. There really was no need for her to go back to the men on the ground. She was sure Maude would be well taken care of. But she would have to leave her cave anyway, find a new home where no one would be able to hunt her. Maybe she could travel with Maude, at least for the day.
Typan decided to travel with Maude for a bit and if a small voice in the back of her head said maybe she could stay with Maude, it was ignored.
Her mind made up, Typan quickly packed what few belongings she had in to a large make-shift sack. Returning to the edge of the cave, she heard a bark and the woman, Kel, calling the dog over.
Looking down, Typan saw the fog had begun to fade in the half hour she had been in her cave. Deep in thought, she hadn't noticed a group of men had come to camp and begun to cook their breakfast as an ugly white dog wagged its bent tail, begging for food.
Suddenly a man looking around the camp spotted Typan looking down at his group.
"Hey, you there! What are you up to?" he called, drawing the attention of the other men and Kel, who was stepping out of the tent with Maude in it.
Typan remained silent, staring at those below.
"Typan?" called Kel. "Is that your human form?"
Typan nodded before reaching into her cave to pick up her belongings and leap out of the cave, scaling the cliff with the quick skill of a seasoned mountain goat.
At the bottom, Typan stood close to the cliff eyeing the newcomers as they looked at her, some with their mouths open after seeing her scale the cliff. The ugly dog trotted up to give Typan a good sniff and one of the men seemed to shake himself.
"Hello Miss Typan. My name is Dom and these wart-like objects behind me are under my command."
Typan nodded as the men behind Dom protested.
"You're more a wart than any of us!"
"Silence, you dirty hounds!" declared Dom with exaggerated bravado.
His men turned back to their breakfast, but managed to hit Dom with a couple of rolls with their backs turned.
Kel fought a smirk as she walked over to Dom. "Sergeant, perhaps you'd better stop flirting before you end up with a broken nose."
"Yeah, Kel packs a wallop," called Raoul as he left his tent.
"My girl would never mess with my face," called Dom.
"It's the only thing you've got going for you," muttered one of the men to the amusement of the others.
Throughout this exchange, Typan watched warily. When the group seemed sufficiently distracted, she made her way to Maude's tent, followed only by the ugly dog.
Inside, Maude was sitting up, sipping a cup of tea. She welcomed the dog and Typan with a smile.
"I see you've been packing a bag," said Maude with a smile.
Typan tensed and said nothing.
"It will be nice to have your company," continued Maude. "Not too many girls on the road."
Letting a small smile show, a quirk of the lips, Typan sat down next to Maude.
"Where do you live?" Typan asked.
"It's a small fief called Pirate's Swoop. Alanna the Lioness and her husband George live there."
"The Lioness?" questioned Typan, from what she knew the woman was a whore, a follower of armies who had learned to fight. Supposedly she was as good on her feet as on her back.
"Yes, she's the King's Champion. Bit short, but her presence makes up for that," said Maude fondly. "Best in the land with a sword, too."
"Hmm," was all Typan had to say.
"You'll meet her if you travel with us. Now help me up, youngin', those young men won't wait all day for us."
They made their way slowly out of the tent with their four-legged companion. The men huddled around the campfire quickly made room for Maude and Typan. Though she didn't say much, Typan enjoyed the atmosphere of the breakfast with familiar joking and the friendly faces.
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