Slowly. That's how she moved. Even if she concentrated for hours, Syri knew she wouldn't remember even once when she ran. For her being blind meant that she was destined to go everywhere at a slow pace, no matter what. It wasn't as bad as other things, being blind. At least that's what her mother would always say when lecturing her about how she should be grateful that all she lost was her sight and not her life.

Sometimes she wondered about that.

She tilted her head back, feeling her hair as it brushed her neck. Her way-cane, as she called the stick she used to feel her way around, busily tapped the ground ahead of her, searching for obstacles. Her head came back down, sightless eyes staring fixedly at the stones by default. Anyone who didn't know her would think the woman was staring hard at the path in an attempt to perhaps remember the way to wherever she was going, and in that assumption they would be quite incorrect. Syri knew the way to her house by heart, but those who didn't like her had been known to toss things into her path to trip her up. She didn't want any unwarranted falls today (or any other day of course, but today was today) and so she was careful to check her path before walking it. If anything she gave it extra attention because she'd heard murmuring on her way through the city that hadn't sounded good, carrying traces of ill will and malicious humor that she'd learned to recognize as bad news when it was aimed toward her.

She sighed heavily, wondering what in the world she had ever done to deserve enemies whose only grievance with her was that she was blind. She was a practical, whimsical sort of woman. She always had been. She never held a grudge for the simple fact that she wasn't going to devote her energy to something so pointless. In Syri's mind it was a simple matter: she hadn't done anything, so there was no reason for anyone to come after her. So why didn't the people around her follow the same logic? It just didn't make sense, and it was a difficult pill to swallow. The knowledge tore at her every time she thought about it, so she made a point not to, turning her attention instead to the path ahead.

So intent was she on her way-cane and what it might encounter that it was only when something large brushed against her legs that she even realized anything was there. She stopped dead in her tracks, wary but not afraid of what the thing might be. She lived on the outskirts of the city, after all, and goodness only knew what roamed the wilds beyond her home.

Cautious, Syri held out her free hand. A large furred nose nudged it and she let out the breath she'd been holding in a glad whoosh of air. It was only a dog, after all, and a friendly one at that. She knelt down, laying her way-cane beside her feet so she could wrap her arms around the beast's neck. It was unexpectedly thick and she realized that this was one monster of a dog. She nuzzled her nose into its fur, giggling when it tickled. The canine didn't seem to mind, sitting calmly as it allowed her to love on it.

Syri unlatched her arms, sitting back on her heels to regard the dog with her blind eyes. "Well, you surprised me, Mr. Dog." She'd decided the dog was a he. "Snuck up on me proper, you did indeed." She sighed, raking a hand through her hair. "I'd love to stay here and chat with you, but I've got to get home. I have work tomorrow and I can't afford to be late." She retrieved her way-cane, rising to her feet. "So I must say good-bye and farewell, Mr. Dog." She made an elaborate bow in the dog's direction, tipping an imaginary hat.

Amused at herself for bowing to a dog, she began walking, tapping her way. The amusement quickly turned to exasperation when the dog came up beside her, leaning his body against her left leg. Syri yelped and staggered to the side, but managed to right herself at the last second. She sent the furred troublemaker a blind glare then tried to keep going. Again the dog interfered, now blocking her path completely. Feeling a bit annoyed, she nevertheless tried to keep some of her usual good humor about her and instead of kicking the dog she whined, "Mr. Dog, I said sorry for not being able to stay and talk, didn't I? Why won't you let me go home?"

She was a bit surprised when the dog gave a growling bark that seemed to be a bit snappish. Thoroughly confused she leaned over him and tapped with her way-cane, searching for what might have made the canine so insistent in keeping her still.

Her way-cane hit something.

Dropping to her hands and knees, wincing a bit at the thought of the dirt she'd have to wash out of her skirt later, she crawled forward past the dog, who'd obligingly moved aside. Going at a painstakingly slow pace she waved her hand back and forth above the ground in front of her. It wasn't long before her fingers brushed something hard and sharp. Making a surprised sound she knelt in front of what she'd found and tried to figure out what it was by touch.

Her fingers slow and unsure, she gently and cautiously felt the mystery object. It was something that was flat in parts with lots of sharp, rough things protruding out of it. Syri probed the flat area with one hand and was awarded a splinter for her efforts. It was then that the realization of just what was blocking her path struck her with all the force of a punch to the gut.

It was a wooden board, big and wide with rusty nails jutting through it. Not wanting to believe what her senses were telling her, she leaned to the side to feel just how long the board was.

It spanned the width of her path. Even with her way-cane she wouldn't have been able to avoid it.

Tears welled up in her eyes and she surrendered to them, pressing her fists against her mouth in an effort to muffle the sobs. It didn't work. "Why? Why? What did I do wrong?" She sat down on the worn stones, drawing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. "Why d-do people do this to me? Wha-when did I ever hurt them?" Keening wails ripped their way out of her chest and nothing she did could stifle them. "W-why d-d-d-do they tr-tr-try to ha-hurt m-m-meeeee?" Festered pain and rotted hurt mixed with rancid confusion swarmed her mind, flooding thoughts of betrayal and agony into her head that she couldn't stop. When Mr. Dog pressed his warm body against hers she latched onto him, burying her face in his ruff and sobbing.

She didn't know that she was really crying into the fur of a wolf, or that he'd seen the group of teenagers that had put the board there in the first place. Nor did she know that they'd decided to wait until she'd been crippled by their little trap then they'd planned to rape her, snickering to themselves that a blind woman would never be able to retaliate against such an attack. They probably would've succeeded had it not been for the enormous dog that had showed up and scared them all silly. None of this did she know, and he planned on keeping it that way.

After a good long cry Syri drew away from her canine comforter and wiped her eyes, giggling weakly. Her breath still came in hitched half-sobs as she chuckled, "I must seem pretty pathetic to you, huh? Breaking down and sobbing over something like this. Ugh, I bet poor Kantama is starving by now." Wobbling to her feet, she took hold of her way-cane and leaned heavily on it, hands trembling. She took a hesitant step using her way-cane as a cane then felt Mr. Dog push his head up under her free hand.

"Do you want to lead, boy?"

He barked in approval and began walking, guiding her around the board, which necessitated them forging through the underbrush beside the path for a little ways, then on toward home. Trusting the dog's instincts, Syri followed him. He led her swiftly across the worn stones, his white blue eyes scanning ahead to be sure of her safety. He'd made the effort to meet her, and none too soon if he did say so himself, so he wasn't about to let her be injured now.

Syri sniffled in confusion when the dog disappeared from under her hand. It wasn't until she felt him nudging her hip that she tapped ahead with her way-cane. She almost started crying again from happiness when she discovered herself at her own front door with Kantama meowing for her inside.

Quickly unlocking said door she opened it to let Mr. Dog slip inside and then did so herself before closing and locking it behind her. Smiling and blinking back tears, Syri set her way-cane beside the door and walked over to where Kantama was yowling insistently. Smiling down at her demanding cat, the blind woman scratched behind his ears. She grinned when Kantama started purring, eyes closing in bliss at being petted. Speaking to the dog that was sitting in a corner of the room she said, "I don't really know why I do this, since all it does is spoil this kitten. He's plenty spoiled as it is, don't you agree?" She giggled when the dog gave a woof of agreement. The cat hissed in protest.

When her hand finally started to cramp from scratching the cat, Syri strode over to the stove, lifting the top off a pot that seemed to have been simmering for quite some time. Steam wafted up from it and his mouth watered at the smell of meat that radiated outwards from the vessel. He was quite relieved to see her pouring the contents of the pot into three bowls, with one markedly larger than the rest. This was the one she set in front of him and he went at the food within with gusto. Before Kantama and Syri had halfway finished their meals he was already done with his, standing at Syri's elbow and staring fixedly at her bowl. She gave him a playful swat to the nose when she felt him pressing closer, admonishing him for his bad manners.

Now feeling just a little bit miffed but not enough to actually be annoyed, he stretched out on a nearby rug and watched as Syri collected everyone's bowls and cleaned them. She was a very tidy person, though that trait could be credited to the fact that everything had to go back into its place or she'd lose it. She'd most likely memorized the location of everything in the house for that very reason.

After drying the dishes and putting them away, Syri set her way-cane in a small basket by her bed, making sure that it was just so before moving on. She cleaned up the leftovers from dinner, making sure all the food was safely stored in various containers and tucked into several cupboards. Kantama meowed until she walked over and gave him a final pat on the head, making the cat purr with contentment.

When the wolf saw her walking over to her closet, he was decent enough to shut his eyes. When the blind woman had finished changing into her pajamas he opened them again, stretching luxuriously and ignoring the cat, who was eyeballing him from Syri's pillow. The wolf watched her as she walked over and got into her bed, petting and moving the cat to make room for her to lay down.

He'd just been about to start dozing (it was a very comfy rug) when Syri suddenly sat up and exclaimed, "Oh my! I haven't found out your name yet, have I Mr. Dog? I can't keep calling you that, so we must come up with a name, mustn't we? Goodness, and to think that I almost forgot. That would have been terribly rude of me."

He tilted his head, amused at the importance she placed on the name of a supposed dog. She was a strange one indeed.

"Well, come on up here. I don't want to be staring at the floor." She patted the bed beside her, indicating that he was to join her.

Being something of an opportunist he accepted the offer. Hopping easily onto the mattress he settled himself in beside the woman, who laid her hand on his head and absently scratched behind his ears. He couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the way her eyebrows furrowed in concentration as she tried her very hardest to think of a good name for him. He clammed up a second later when Syri sat up straighter, turning her head this way and that to try and locate who'd been laughing. Puzzled she asked, "Did you hear that boys? I heard someone giggling, I swear I did."

He huffed a bit in protest. He didn't giggle!

After a few more minutes of listening she relaxed, smiling down at the animals on her bed. "Well, I guess I was imagining things. Anyway. We've got to come up with a name. And Kantama I'm expecting some input from you this time around."

Said cat was busy giving the wolf the evil eye, having stretched out alongside Syri's thigh earlier on and thus had been sandwiched between his owner and the wolf who'd relocated to the bed. The wolf ignored the cat, instead whispering very, very softly, the name Kaze.

Syri, mistaking the suggestion for her own thoughts (which had been his intention), exclaimed, "Kaze! Your name is Kaze!"

When he noticed the blind woman's yawning, the newly named Kaze laid his head down on the pillow. Syri bid her animals good night and snuggled up against him, throwing one arm over his neck. The wolf, not minding this one little bit, listened to her breathing slow and lengthen as she fell asleep at his side.

"Taking advantage of a blind woman, are you?"

Kaze didn't move except to look at Kantama through the corner of his eye. "I could say the same of you."

The cat harrumphed. "She knows what I am. I'm not putting on airs and pretending to be a lion, now am I?"

"She needs someone to protect her."

"And you volunteered yourself for the part, it seems."

"I don't see you keeping your master from being raped."

Kantama gave him the evil eye. "That's not the first time it's happened, and probably won't be the last. She's taken care of herself up 'til now. If you'd watched instead of interfering, you'd've seen just what I mean."

The wolf's ears perked. "How did you know I've been watching her?"

Kantama jumped down from where he'd been perched, approaching the massive lupine. "I'm a cat. All the superstitions surrounding my kind aren't completely unfounded, you know." His bronze eyes practically glowed in the darkness.

"I'll keep that in mind. So, since you're not gonna be able to get rid of me," the cat rolled his eyes, "you may as well tell me about this woman. How'd she go blind?"

Kantama sat down just beyond the bed, staring up at the enormous beast. "It was an accident. She was hit by a baseball in the back of the head. It affected the nerves there and rendered her blind. That happened when she was three. She's pretty quick to adapt to things, and being blind is no different. As you may have noticed, she's able to get around pretty well most of the time with only her way-cane to guide her. She's also a decent fighter with it." The cat grinned as much as a cat can. "Though I will admit I am glad that you'll be with her from now on. I always worry about her when she's gone, and if you're near her I know she'll be okay."

Kaze returned the smile, though he did raise an eyebrow when the cat leapt onto his back and began kneading the flesh between Kaze's shoulder blades with his claws. With a grimace he asked, "What do you think you're doing?"

The cat curled up on the spot he'd been kneading, tucking his paws beneath himself and covering his nose with his tail. When he spoke his voice was muffled and already sounded drowsy. "I'm sleeping. You're warm."

Kaze chuckled to himself. "Alright." And so the wolf slept.