After breakfast was over and the campsite tidied, we suited up in our gear and prepared to head out. Avani gave Baldur some filleted raw fish and a bowl of water and put him on guard duty, and we left. We headed eastwards towards a bridge we'd spotted the day before as we searched for a campsite. We spent the day exploring the area east of the bridge, but although we saw some strange creatures, including some peculiar flatfish that lived in the sandy remains of a dried-up lake, we didn't find any sign of Sechs activity. We returned home in the late afternoon, tired and dusty from the day's trek.

Dylas decided he wanted to catch some fish for dinner, and Avani swore she needed to bathe and wash her grimy clothes before she choked herself to death on the dust. "Well, if you hadn't wasted a whole freaking hour chasing those damned sand flounders around, you wouldn't be so dusty," Dylas remarked with amusement, ducking with a laugh as she chucked her leather gloves at his head. "Anyway, go ahead and bathe all you like, but wait until I've caught dinner, will you? Otherwise you'll scare all the fish!"

"You... you horse!" she yelled after his hastily retreating figure. I laughed at her look of disgust, and she looked at me with chagrin, then laughed, too, saying, "Yeah, I know, he's right—but he might have said my splashing would scare them—not that I would!"

I laughed, "Well, I would guess that it wasn't his suave manner and brilliant social skills that attracted you to him in the first place, anyway."

"You've got that right!" she agreed with another laugh. "Come on, let's go join him. The more fishermen fishing, the sooner we'll have enough for dinner—and the sooner I can get my bath!" She gathered up bathing supplies, a washtub, and a change of clothing, then after a moment's thought, grabbed a change of clothing for Dylas as well. "If you want to bathe, too, get what you need, then we'll head on over to the lake."

************

We joined Dylas as he was enthusiastically fishing from the shore. He already had a few good-sized fish on a string, so it seemed it would not be necessary for us to join him after all. He caught a couple more, then filled the washtub with water from the lake and set the string of fish in the water to keep fresh while we bathed. Dylas didn't approve of us all bathing at the same time, although Avani didn't seem to care ("It's just skin, Dylas. Who cares who sees it? It's the inside that's the important thing, not the outside."), and neither did I, as mixed bathing had been quite common in my time.

But in deference to his more delicate sensibilities, Avani proposed that Dylas and I stick to one side of the small lake while she stuck to the other, or else that we keep our backs turned while she entered and exited the water, and that she would do the same for us. Once in the water, she reasoned, you wouldn't be able to see much anyway unless you really tried, and she didn't think that would be a problem. He still seemed skeptical, though, so with a sigh, she proposed that everyone just strip to their skivvies and use them like swimsuits. Dylas protested at that, too, but Avani reminded him that her underwear was no more revealing than many swimsuits—and less so than some. So we went with that suggestion, stripping to our underwear and diving into the cool water.

Avani loved water like a duck. The lake was not large in diameter, but it was surprisingly deep towards the center, and she reveled in diving, swimming underwater, and floating happily on the surface. Dylas accused her of being a half-nymph or a mermaid, though he seemed to admire her thorough enjoyment of the water. He and I were more businesslike in our bathing, scrubbing ourselves thoroughly with soap and washing the grime from our hair and our tails. I was annoyed to find that the soft, fine fur of my bushy tail was getting a little matted. It was a pain for me to work the tangles out, as it was awkward to reach the entire length.

Dylas noticed my predicament and suggested that I ask Avani to brush it out for me. "She's pretty good at that," he said, turning a little pink, "She's detangled mine a few times. She's really gentle."

I frowned at the idea—while accustomed to my foxy features, I was still sensitive about letting others touch them. I didn't want to invite being treated like a pet, for one thing, nor did I care to invite that level of intimacy from most. But in this case, perhaps I could make an exception. "Yeah, okay. Maybe I'll ask her to do so later, once it's had a chance to dry. Thanks for the suggestion."

"Sure. Just make sure she doesn't have any ribbon on hand, or you might end up with some... unexpected decorations," he said, wincing.

I grinned at the thought of Dylas with bows in his tail—and his reaction upon discovering them. "I'll keep that in mind," I assured him.

I finished cleaning my tail as best I could, then dove in to swim underwater to the deeper water where Avani lay floating, her eyes closed against the brilliant sunlight. From under the surface, I reached up and grabbed her foot and tugged on it, startling her into shrieking and flailing her arms. We played around in the deeper water while Dylas stayed nearer to the shore. He seemed fine in the water, but I guessed he didn't join us just because he wasn't the frolicsome sort. Now if we were having a race... then I was sure he'd be right there alongside. Especially if Doug was there for the competition.

After a while, I decided to head back to camp. Avani swam back to the shallow water with me, asking if I'd release Baldur from his guard duty when I got there. "Just look right at him and tell him 'Baldur, up' and he'll know he's free to leave."

"He won't run off?" I asked, as I gathered my things.

"No," she replied, "or at least not far or for long. He'll probably take care of business, maybe do a little hunting. But he'll be back soon."

"Okay, then I'll see you two in a while. I'll take the fish back with me and start cleaning them." I looked over to see Avani had wrapped her arms around Dylas's neck, the two of them already locked in a kiss as they floated together out towards the deeper water. I grinned, and called out with a laugh, "Take your time, kids!" Dylas replied with a mildly rude gesture, and I laughed again as I headed back to camp.

************

It was some time later when Dylas and Avani strolled back into camp, hand in hand, and from his smugly satisfied look and her happy glow, I didn't need to ask what had taken so long. I'd added some wood to the fire, finished cleaning the fish, and salted some of them in preparation for grilling. The rest I'd left for Dylas to decide how to prepare them.

He quickly got to work, making up for lost time perhaps. Soon there were fish sizzling over the coals of the fire, a dish of sashimi prepared, and he was tossing a salad made of some wild greens that Avani and I had gathered while he worked. Soon we were enjoying our meal in the balmy evening as darkness began to creep across the eastern sky.

I suddenly remembered the chocolate I'd bought, and decided I'd better bring that out tonight—the weather hadn't been too hot so far, but a change in the air tonight hinted at warmer weather tomorrow and I didn't want it to melt. So as soon as we'd finished eating, I pulled it out and gave it to Avani, who exclaimed in delight. "Chocolate! Oh, I love chocolate!" I laughed at her delight, resisting the urge to pat her on the head as one might pat an adorable child. She thanked me, then broke off a chunk and popped it into her mouth with a contented sigh.

She handed the block back to me, but I declined, saying that I'd bought it for her. She protested—chocolate was expensive, she said, and she didn't want to be selfish. I assured her that I didn't care much for it, and even I knew how much Dylas hated sweets of all sorts. She looked dubious, yet obviously pleased by the gift, and finally accepted it with more thanks. I was surprised that she only ate one more bite, but she said that she didn't want to waste it by eating it right before going to sleep. "I'll make some hot chocolate in the morning," she said, "then I'll pack it with me to nibble on tomorrow. I never know when I might need extra energy." With that, she wrapped it back up again and placed it in one of the packs of food for the night.

************

A short time later, I excused myself, leaving the circle of firelight to change out of my clothing and to give Avani privacy to do the same. When I returned, the two of them were just laying out their sleep rolls side by side near the fire. Baldur lay nearby, half hidden in the shadows, apparently back on guard duty. I spread my bedroll out on the other side of the fire, then remembered that I'd wanted to ask Avani to brush my tail out. I hesitated a moment, then stood up and called out to her as she knelt by her wolf, stroking his head gently. "Hey, Avani, I wonder if you could do me a favor...."

Standing up, she returned to the fire, saying, "Probably, what is it?"

"Well, ahh... it's a little embarrassing...." I said, rubbing my chin, still reluctant to let someone else handle my tail.

She raised an eyebrow at me, then Dylas interrupted, saying, "He just wants you to brush his tail. He says it's gotten a little matted. I don't know how someone who is perfectly willing to strip naked in front of you can be so reluctant to ask for your help with such a little thing," he added with a snort.

"Ha-ha, well, that's true," I admitted. "But they're not the same, you know."

Avani laughed, saying, "Of course, Leon. I don't mind at all. I brush Dylas's tail for him all the time. You wouldn't believe some of the snarls he's gotten in it. Do you have a brush with you?" I retrieved the brush I had purchased especially for grooming my tail and handed it to her.

 "Okay," she said, "now sit here... like that, right. And try to hold still, okay? Goodness, you weren't kidding. You need to take better care of your fur, you big goof. I'll be as gentle as I can, but it probably will pull a little. Next time, don't wait so long—just ask me if you need help." It was an odd sensation, having someone else handling and brushing my tail, but I found it far more enjoyable than I had thought I would, despite the tangles and the pulling.

After some time, she said she was done, and I thanked her for her help. "Silly, what are friends for if not to help each other out when needed?" she replied cheerfully, handing my brush back to me.

"It's not always that easy, Avani," Dylas said slowly. "At least, it wasn't for me. I felt so... self-conscious around everyone with my strange appearance. It took a while before I started to get over that, and it's something I still get upset about. I mean, I can take it from you, I guess, when you tease me about being a horse or about carrots or whatever, because I know you honestly don't care that I'm different. But from anyone else.... And I hated for you to touch my tail or ears or anything for a long time, because it just reminded me of how different I was. And... and also, I was afraid you might pity me, which I couldn't have borne. Or even worse, that you might think of me as some sort of pet or something. So... it's not always easy for me to ask for help with things like that. I don't know if it's the same with Leon or if it's something different, but that's how it's been for me anyway."

Again, Dylas surprised me. I tended to think of him as rather slow on the uptake, but sometimes he could be startlingly intuitive or insightful. I looked at him thoughtfully, and said, "Perhaps we have more in common than I had originally believed."

Turning to Avani, I said, "It's not quite the same for me as for Dylas. It's partly as he said, but it's also that grooming is, to me, a fairly intimate act. It would seem, though, that I don't mind it so much when it's you. Thank you for your assistance." She blushed a little as she nodded, then suggested we retire for the night.

As I banked the fire for the night, she stretched out on her sleeping roll, pulling her cloak over her as she lay facing the fire. Dylas stretched out on the adjacent mat, sliding under her cloak as he spooned up to her and pulling his cloak over them. He draped one arm over her waist as she rested her head on his other arm, using it like a pillow. Before I had even pulled my cloak around myself, both were sound asleep.