It seemed she had given the answer he was seeking, as he promised to consider the idea simply because she asked. Bringing that detestable salmon along was turning out to have been a pretty decent idea—it had converted Kjors to a pack wolf in a matter of minutes. Karina had to wonder if it was really her request and the fish that actually changed his mind, or if he had been dwelling on this topic in the days since they last spoke. Perhaps he was lonely and the badger-woman’s scorn had been getting to him… or maybe hunger really was as strong a motivator as was claimed (this princess certainly wouldn’t know).  The child trailed after her companion curiously, and as the scent of ravaged venison grew stronger she understood where they were going.

It took the cloudy-eyed traveler quite a bit longer than Kjors to reach the kill site; navigating a path through a maze of fallen branches was not her strong suit, and neither for that matter was leaping between boulders. Karina turned her face away from the mangled remains, feeling the fish churning in her stomach as she watched Kjors eat. In truth the meal hardly even resembled the proud animal it once was, and that small mercy allowed her just enough strength to remain standing beside it.

“You should bring it,” she counseled, and not only so he would quit devouring the poor deer in front of her. “It would be meaningful... not every loner is willing to deprive himself for us." Though Kjors claimed to have lead a pack at one point in his life, it seemed he could use a refresher course on how to be a subordinate. “I’ve got siblings on the way,” Karina reminded him, “We’ll bring it for Mom.” She smiled sweetly at the golden eyed man, wondering if he would agree and if would notice the “we” in her sentence. Kjors would be lucky to earn an invitation into their close-knit family on his own, but with Karina by his side when he asked her parents could hardly refuse.

“We have guardians,” the pup answered, and though she didn’t know it truly any wolf in the River would fight and die for the young princess. “But we have enemies too, lots of them. I.. I wouldn’t be able to defend myself if something happened, if--” Words abandoned the pup as an attack on her home was too terrible to even imagine, let alone describe to Kjors. If she was going to be very honest, she knew she would likely run far, far away at the first sign of an attack... but if learning self-defense was what it took to get Kjors to spend time with her in Cut Rock River, then learn to fight she would! “Kjors.. it’s really bad,” she said softly, referring to her pack’s current situation with their enemies. ”That’s what I came to tell you about.”

”I’ll keep you safe,” the man promised with a reassuring touch, and after a moment’s hesitation the littlest Baranski nodded. They were the words she had heard all her life, from her parents..  Aleksei.. it would seem that it was not important for a princess to learn to fight. There was a small, nagging doubt in the back of her mind that someday she was going to need to know how to defend herself—was she to have an escort every moment for the rest of her life?—but if nobody would take the time to teach such a hopeless case as her then that was the answer she would have to be content with.

Her eyes widened with surprise at his next statement. For some reason Karina had imagined it would take him more time to prepare; she thought he would at least have to confer with the badger woman. “Oh..” she said, hesitating once more as she watched Kjors rip a haunch off of the carcass for the journey.   “Ah..  Kjors... we’re moving. Cut Rock River is leaving the Cedarwood Forest. Immediately.” Tensions were high and her parents were stressed.. this was certainly not a good time for Kjors to come sauntering in alongside the Baranski’s most precious baby.  Karina wasn’t even ready to admit to her parents that she had left the pack’s territory—how as she going to explain where she found Kjors? A meeting on the road would serve everyone much better, in Karina’s opinion.

“Northeast, I think.. very, very far northeast.” Karina’s gaze met the swarthy man’s golden eye.  She was relieved that everything was finally out in the open, and she had told her friend what she came to tell him. “Everyone is pretty upset,” she added, hoping Kjors would get the hint that now was not the best time to be rocking the boat in Cut Rock River.

Kjors simply nodded at her news, and Karina marveled at his ability to never look surprised. She-- on the other paw-- was always taken aback about something and knew she looked it. She hadn’t been alone in that reaction with this particular news;  many of her packmates and especially Orren were upset as well. A hint of a smile pulled at the corner of her mouth as she recalled Orren yelling at their father in front of the entire pack, a stunt only a prince could get away with.  It had been a dramatic meeting to say the least.

Although he acted a little put out—Karina expected nothing less—the swarthy man reluctantly agreed to rendezvous with Cut Rock River once they started their journey. Karina’s heart swelled as Kjors mentioned going to the trouble to find yet another offering for her mother. She couldn’t recall anyone ever doing something so nice for her. “Thank you, Kjo!” she nearly sang in rhapsodic gratitude, bouncing to her feet to nuzzle him affectionately under his ear. Without thinking about it she used the little nickname she had heard him use for himself.

The pup pulled away to meet the man’s eye and he dismissed her. The girl’s own periwinkle eyes were dancing merrily, and for the time being she thought herself the most doted-on princess in Relic. “I can’t wait!” The pup grinned once more, still incredulous that things had worked out the way she wanted—that all she had to do was ask, and Kjors gave her what she desired. She reached forward to give her companion a farewell lick on his chin before darting into the forest. She directed herself toward home, and as she traveled she made the uneasy realization that the next time she “went home,” it was going to be toward a different place entirely.