"Triste," Tabceo said his name. "What is the matter? Why are you sobbing?"

I patted my legs to indicate to Triste that he could sit in my lap. He crawled into my lap and laid his furry head on my chest. I stroked his back and hummed a tune. My voice always calms him down.

Triste held up a paw. "I am crying for three reasons. One, the writer is making me. Two, my name is the Spanish word for sad. And three..." He paused. "...I have been through heck!"

Tabceo and I looked at each other, and then back at him. "Are you talking about Maria's castle?" Tabceo guessed correctly. "Where you were trapped at?"

"'Trapped' is not the word that I would use," Triste said. "Grand Wolf and the other wolves and I were enslaved. Enslaved in these small cages where there was barely any room! We were practically slaves!"

He started hyperventilating, his stomach heaving up and down. I rolled him on his back and rocked him as if he were a baby. As a matter of fact, he acted like a baby. He cooed and kicked with his furry legs and gave me the puppy eyes.

"Maria?"

"Yes, Triste?"

"Can you scratch my belly? Pretty please? Like you used to do before your parents stole you from us?"

"Anything for my best friend."

"Ahem! I thought that I was your best friend, Maria," Tabceo stated.

I gave her one of my sweet smiles. "You both can be my best friends. Good animals have always been and will always be my best friends." I started scratching Triste's stomach. "Can you tell us what happened at the castle, Triste? If you are up to it."

"We will understand if it is too traumatizing for you to discuss," Tabceo added.

The wolf's eyes widened. "It was not the king's or the queen's idea to lock us wolves in the small cages and starve us to death."

The red bird and I gasped.

I swallowed a lump in my throat. "G-Grand Wolf and the other wolves are...dead?" My voice shook when I said that word.

He smiled and patted my shoulder with his paw. "Oh my gosh. Not even close, Maria. They are very much alive. The wolves are working together to gather food without the guards noticing."

"How are they sneaking in food when they are stuck in the small cages?" Tabceo pointed out.

"I have no idea. But I know that they were gathering food because I saw a big, juicy steak." He licked his lips. "Does this village serve big, juicy steaks?"

The bird perched herself on his cold, wet nose. "Has it not occurred to you that steaks and other kinds of meats come from animals?"

Triste blinked a couple times. "You suggesting that I am dumb or something?"

"I did not say that you were dumb. You are far from it."

He brought out his claws and grasped the fabric of my shirt. "To be honest...I always wondered where meats came from."

"You mean that you never knew this entire time that meats are from animals?"

"Nope. Although..." He tapped his chin using a claw. "...Grand Wolf did say that all the meats in Forlot do not come from animals."

"So it is 'meat' for vegetarians."

He smirked. "Who says that there are vegetarians in the town of Forlot?"

Tabceo looked at me before looking back at him. "I am so confused right now."

At that moment, I heard a weird noise. I cupped my hand around my ear and listened carefully. It was an animal. The sound of an animal begging for help.

"Do you guys hear that?" I asked Tabceo and Triste.

"The only sound that I am hearing is the beating of your heart," Triste said.

"Are you sure that you do not have a crush on her?" Tabceo said.

"It sounds close," I said. "We should check it out to make sure that whoever is out there is okay."

Not even ten seconds later, we were outside and by a small barn. The barn was so old that its brown paint was peeling, leaving white spots. Grand Mar stood in front of the entrance to the barn and tsk-tsked.

"What is going on, Grand Mar?" I asked. "I do pray that nothing is wrong."

"I am afraid that something is indeed wrong, Maria," he replied sadly. "One of my horses is on the ground and whimpering. Wish that I knew what is upsetting her, but I do not speak horse."

"Maybe Maria can help," Tabceo piped up.

Grand Mar faced me. "You can speak horse?"

"I was gifted with the ability to talk to the animals," I told him. "I understand their needs."

"Do you think that you could talk to my horse? I will reward you with whatever you desire."

"No reward is necessary, sir. I am happy to do it."

"God bless you, Maria. God bless you."

I realized when I first stepped inside that there was only one horse. Its stomach was lying on the straw, and it was kicking its front legs. It seemed like that the horse was in distress.

I walked slowly towards the horse and waved. "Hey there."

The horse noticed me and kicked its legs even more.

"Hey, hey. It is okay. I am not going to hurt you."

The horse understandably did not trust me. I halted in my tracks and got on my knees. I was inches away from the horse.

"Grand Mar sent me here because I have an excellent connection with animals," I explained. "I can talk to them."

The animal slowly raised its head. "Y-you can talk to animals?"

"Yes."

"That is impossible. Humans cannot communicate with the animal kingdom. Besides, all the humans that I have met treat animals with no respect. They beat us and skin us and treat us like dirt. Why would the universe ever gift a human?"