The coastline had long since disappeared behind them, swallowed by rolling stretches of dry grass that seemed determined to keep going on and on forever. The world had opened into an endless sea of gold and pale green, broken only by the occasional rise in the land or a lonely cluster of trees standing like little islands beneath a sky softened by drifting clouds. The cover spared them the worst of the day's heat, but it did little to make the journey feel any shorter.

Yelp had never walked this far in his life.

Not even close.

His tongue lolled shamelessly from his mouth as he trudged onward, breathing hard and steady. Every step sent a fresh sting through the pads of his paws, a constant burning sensation. It wasn't the heated floor from the summer's intensity that did it. The earth beneath them was dry, but forgiving enough actually. The problem was his own feet. Years of wandering only around the familiar bounds of his pack's territory, where there had never been any reason to travel farther than necessary, had left them embarrassingly soft. Puppy-soft. Especially compared to wolves who actually lived on the move.

By now the skin had begun to rub raw, though he tried not to think about it.

Instead, he focused on placing one paw in front of the other, settling into the rhythm Maral had set. She walked with the sort of steady confidence that made the distance seem almost effortless. Yelp found himself drifting a pace or two behind her more often than not, his head hanging lower each time his burning paws reminded him how woefully unprepared he was for... well, apparently life.

Then, whenever Maral happened to glance back, his ears would perk as though jolted by lightning.

His head lifted and his stride lengthened. His breathing became just a little quieter He would do his best impression of a wolf who wasn't slowly discovering muscles he'd never known existed in his body.

The performance usually lasted all of several seconds before gravity reclaimed his head and his gait shortened once more. Only when he was sure Maral wasn't looking, though.

Questions drifted endlessly through his mind.

How much farther?

When are we stopping?

Is this what every day is like out here?

How does anybody willingly do this?

They crowded behind his teeth, begging to be asked. But hed swallow every single one.

Maral had already been kind enough to let him tag along. She'd answered question after question without making him feel stupid, offered him a place to go, and even offered that enormous horse if walking became too much. The last thing Yelp wanted was to confirm whatever opinion she had undoubtedly formed of him already.

Sheltered.

Soft.

Clueless.

He grimaced faintly. She probably pitied him. It was that thought alone that kept his mouth shut.

His green eyes wandered sideways toward the towering grey stallion plodding alongside Maral with infuriating ease. Möngön looked as though he could walk for days without so much as breathing harder, each long stride carrying him farther than Yelp managed in two. Every now and then the young wolf found himself staring at the broad back, imagining just how much easier this journey would be from up there.

His ears flattened.

Nooo.

He'd sooner crawl the rest of the way.

The beast was big enough to make his stomach tighten every time it turned its head, and climbing onto its back after he'd already puffed out his chest and insisted he'd be just fine felt like volunteering to die of embarrassment instead.

So Yelp trudged on, sore paws and all, determined to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Yelp's eyes remained glued stubbornly to the ground, every ounce of his concentration devoted to making sure one paw landed in front of the other.

Left. Right.
Left. Right.

Somewhere along the way, the simple act of walking became something that demanded 100% of his full concentration. It wasn't until Maral's gentle voice brushed against his ears that he finally looked up.

"Wuh-huh?"

The sound left his mouth before his brain managed to catch up with the question. "Oh! Uhhhh" A smile found its way onto his face, though it came out looking more like a tired grimace than anything reassuring, really. Honestly, it was hard to force anything being as winded as he was now. And he hated that. He hated how her question made him feel too, and he felt ashamed of it. Maral had been nothing but kind to him ever since they'd met. Her concern for him now somehow felt as if he was taking her for granted. What more could she offer when she was already helping him so much? The least he could do was keep up and not complain and not cause trouble, right? But he couldnt even pretend enough to keep her from worrying.

Man...

"I'm alright," he answered between steady hard breaths. "Just, uhh... never really did any of this traveling stuff before, ya know?" His shoulders lifted in an awkward shrug. " it's probably doing me some good though, right?" He lifted one forepaw for a moment, turning it over to inspect the pad. Near the center, where the dark skin had begun to wear thin, a small patch of exposed pink stood out all too clearly. "I just hope this part goes away." A crooked grin tugged at one corner of his muzzle before he set the paw back down and resumed walking. "It'd be kinda embarrassing if my greatest enemy turned out to be walking around." Despite the joke, there wasn't much conviction behind it. His breathing still came a little harder than he wanted, and every few steps reminded him exactly how unprepared he was for all of this.

Still, he listened carefully as Maral spoke.

Something about the way she talked settled strangely in his chest. Her words reminded him of home. Of Mom and Dad. His parents had sounded just like that. It was whenever things got hard for Yelp, whenever he struggled to keep up, whenever he fretted that everyone else seemed to be racing ahead without him,

It's alright.

Take your time.

Just rest.

You'll figure it out eventually.


They'd always meant well, he knew that. But somehow, hearing nearly the same thing now made something inside him instinctively stiffen. Why was he always treated so gently? Did he really seem that lost and helpless?

Yelp forced his attention elsewhere just as Maral mentioned they were almost there, his ears perking immediately. "Oh?" Green eyes narrowed as he squinted across the endless sea of grass, eventually making out the faint shape of what looked like a camp sitting on the horizon. "Oh! Hey, I can see it." His tail gave a tired wag.

When she asked whether he'd like to rest after they arrived, the real answer almost escaped before he caught it.

"Well..." He pinned his ears awkwardly, "I mean...I could, uhh, probably help with something first?? Don't'cha think?" His gaze lingered on the distant camp. "I mean, it'd be kinda rude if I just showed up and immediately crashed, right?" He glanced between Maral and the towering grey horse beside her. "Shouldn't I at least say hi to everybody? The wolves and, like," His eyes flicked toward Möngön. "the horses???" Truthfully, the thought of laying down somewhere cool enough to soak his aching paws sounded about as close to heaven as anything he'd ever imagined right about now.

Then Möngön let out that amused snort.

Yelp looked over at the towering beast, his brows furrowing. "Pfft." Yelp puffed out his chest despite the ragged breathing that immediately betrayed him. "I'm keeping up just fine." He mimicked one of Möngön's exaggerated head bobs, wearing an exaggerated expression that attempted to project some kind of swagger. "Give me..." he paused to catch another breath, "...a couple weeks..." A wheeze "...Bet I'd smoke you in a race, buddy."

The smugness lasted all of two seconds before his lungs reminded him they were still in his body. Struggling

After a quiet moment, he glanced back toward Maral. "...Hey." The joking tone he once carried fizzled out significantly for something more personable and genuine. "How old were you when you started doing all this?" His eyes wandered back toward the trail stretching ahead them. "I mean," He sighed, "back where I'm from, everyone my age already knew how to hunt and stuff." A quiet half-hearted laugh slipped through his nose. "I guess I kinda missed all that."

He shrugged, trying to make it sound smaller than it felt.

"Just wondering is all."

It is the first Batu must sit and run a frequented ordo, to listen to the peoples’ suggestions on mongol affairs, and judge cases from the nokud. None yet so grave or tedious. It is only the start of a court.

A king of the steppe is at the mercy of his petitioners, for he never does refuse, but it is the way things must be.

It is this day, some hours into government, when a woman of the clan, Maral with her warm-blue pelts, appears accompanied by a another sort— a yearling starved to the bone.

At a distance, Batu gives them safeguard, welcoming them onward into the circle of gers and his waiting audience.

Yelp grinned at Maral's translation of her horse, immediately pointing one paw toward the enormous stallion. "Oh, accepting's the first mistake. You better watch out!" Möngön didn't seem particularly concerned. "HMF! Hope you keep that energy later!"

His ears flicked as Maral continued speaking, and despite how winded he still was, he found himself nodding along. "Yea, I guess that makes sense." He shrugged. "If you do somethin' long enough, eventually you're bound to get better at it." It sounded obvious when she put it that way. He wasn't born knowing how to walk either. Or swim. Or... well, most things.

Still

He couldn't quite shake the thought that most wolves his age had already figured this part out a long while ago, and he should feel ashamed for allowing it to go this long.

"Ya know, one of the old dusty elders back home used to swear he'd let venomous snakes bite him on purpose." A crooked grin tugged at his muzzle. "Said if it got him enough times he'd build up a tolerance or something crazy like that." He snorted quietly to himself. "Guy was a loon. Wound up getting taken out by a scorpion." He glanced down at his sore paws before looking back up. There was a parallel there somewhere. hopefully not the whole dying part.

As Maral spoke about her people following the horses, Yelp's attention drifted across the grazing herds. He had to admit, It still felt a little strange. Back home, if something had hooves, eventually somebody was probably planning on eating it. Here they wandered beside wolves without a care in the world. He couldn't help wondering whether that made hunting easier somehow. If they followed the horses everywhere, maybe they didn't have to spend half a day tracking prey through the forest like the hunters back home always did. Or maybe there was more to it than that. Yelp was beginning to find that usually has been the case since arriving in this world.

The camp itself slowly came into view, and his attention immediately shifted. "Oh..." His eyes wandered over the strange rounded structures scattered across the grasslands. They looked almost alive, somehow.

"A ger..." he muttered under his breath.

Another few steps.

"...Geeer."

Another beat.

"Gerrrrrrrr."

He'd only ever known one kind of animal that built homes. And that was beavers. How in the world did wolves make something like that? His eyes lingered on one of them as they passed, trying to work it out in his head how it worked with bones, hides, and all. Maral had said they could even take them apart and move them somewhere else. The whole thing felt impossibly clever. He wondered if it was something he'd get to learn while he was here.

By the time they reached the center of camp, the realization that there were wolves everywhere settled over him all at once. Out on the trail it'd just been him and Maral. Now every direction he looked there was somebody. Wolves talking amongst themselves, horses wandering nearby, smells so unfamiliar they all blurred together. Without really thinking about it, he straightened himself up and tried to stand a little taller.

Unfortunately, standing still turned out to be its own problem.

His paws had stopped moving, which meant every throb settled right into the raw pads beneath him. It almost felt like there was a heartbeat inside each foot. After a few seconds his legs started trembling ever so slightly, forcing him to subtly lean onto one side before easing his weight back onto the other.

The yearling's ears turned toward Maral as she began speaking again. Except, none of the words made any sense.

His head tilted as he stared at Maral. Then at the muscular wolf sitting before them. Then back to Maral again.

When she looked back with that same reassuring smile she'd worn ever since they'd met, Yelp answered with an awkward half-smile of his own. He hadn't understood a single word she'd said, but if Maral wasn't worried, then, he figured he probably didn't need to be either.

"Oh. Right." He cleared his throat, trying very hard not to shuffle his feet again. "Yelp." One of his oversized paws rested against his chest. "Uh... it's nice to meet you, Batu." His gaze flicked toward Maral. "Maral's been really nice. She found me after I showed up out here and," He smiled sheepishly. "hopefully she won't be so sad-lookin' anymore now that she's back home." Looking back toward Batu, he hurried on before he lost his nerve. "Maral said I could stick around for a little while." His ears pinned slightly. "I, uh... I promise I'm not some... like, bum freeloader or anything." His eyes drifted off to the side. "I can help with... pack stuff."

Another beat passed before he added, almost under his breath,

"Actually, if you've got somethin' that needs doin', I could probably help with it now... or something" Yelp immediately regretted volunteering his aching paws for anything at all, but it also felt like the right thing to say. He wanted to show he appreciated the kindness shown to him, to make a good impression, and above all, he didn't want to seem useless.

Maral Batu Ochir

While Maral speaks, khaan keeps the green of his eyes attuned for the stranger, climbing the spare lines of a frame seemingly unaccustomed to toil. A shame he is here and not north with the willowy han-men.

Unmoving, he takes in the boy’s scent, tasting of desolate rain. Not pack. Not family. In gradients of bay roaning, the tiger is interested in where he comes from, but does not ask.

“Batu. Khaan of alukhai,” acknowledges the heavy accent. Alone, the roan poses little threat, and still Batu remains watchful, hearing him out with two or three sharp inspections of his face. Although visibly exhausted, the boy seems utterly determined to hide this.

“Pack stuff,” khaan mimics, exchanging a look with Maral in a tramp of humor. “What you do, Yelp? Herd? Hunt? Heal?”

Yelp's ears perked at the unfamiliar title.

"....Khaaann."

He rolled the word around in his mouth a couple of times, just as he'd done with ger a little while ago, but inaudibly. "Riiight. I think that means you're theee uhhh, Big Guy around here." It came out more like a realization than a question. His mouth had a habit of trying to solve things out loud before his brain quite caught up.

Under Batu's stare, Yelp felt more exposed than he had out on the open trail with Maral. The thought that the bigger male might be sizing him up crept into his mind.

Look at this skinny kid, he imagined the older wolf thinking. Can't even stand still without shaking.

Maybe he was just overthinking it. It was hard to get much of a read on Batu with that hard, steady gaze fixed on him.

Yelp suddenly found both the eye contact and the smile he'd been wearing a whole lot harder to keep up. Then Batu glanced toward Maral, and Yelp's eyes followed before he caught himself and looked back again, pretending he hadn't noticed or cared.

Then came the questions.

"What you do? Herd? Hunt? Heal?"

...

Of course he'd ask…

A wolf his age was supposed to have an answer ready. You didn't just grow up and never learn something, right?. Hunting, tracking and all that. Everybody eventually became good at one thing or another.

Eventually.

Funny how eventually always seemed just far enough away.

His ears dipped for the briefest moment before springing back up "Well, I mean--" Yelp straightened instinctively. "I can do what anybody else can do." His brows lowered just a tick, tone edged with a hint of indignance as he went on. "I can do..." He paused, suddenly aware of how flimsy that sounded. "things."

But he didn't falter.

"You know." His paw circled vaguely through the air. "pack stuff… You see a thing that needs doin', you do the thing sorta thing?" He nodded once, apparently satisfied with that explanation. "That kinda stuff. Plus the other stuff you said."

Shit, that sounded awful.

His grin spread wider, easy and just a little too eager.

"I mean, I dunno how you guys do things around here yet." He flicked an ear toward the direction the horses were grazing. "That horse business is definitely new." And the gers, and the nomadic lifestyle, the culture, and everything else. A quiet snort escaped him. "But I'll catch on." He shrugged as though it were the simplest thing in the world. "Just point me at somethin' that needs doin'."

Batu Maral

Look at this skinny kid, Batu thinks. Can't even stand still without shaking.

“Why alone? No brother or sister? No wife? Children?”

Yelp's speech will not go unchallenged. How strange it is, to be like the late khaan of khaans, and hold himself in such a way as a king. Subutai had a face that disarmed. Batu had not yet earned the right. But for his people, he must be thoughtful. Two’s a party interest. Three’s a faction. Roving factions he is old enough to remember and beware.

He rises.

“You travel long. Rest. Eat with clan. Tomorrow, show ‘pack stuff’.” Maybe then he would allow the boy Yelp to make a ger on his land.