7/20/2026, 1:16 PM
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."
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."