The weather had gotten a little more nippy as the day went on, but that didn't deter his master from taking a walk in the large garden behind the house. He'd been glancing at it from his balcony off and on since they'd arrived at their temporary home, so it was no surprise when he finally decided to go ahead and take a closer look. Of course, Ruoka followed closely at his heels, not trusting anyone else to look after his master but himself.

He wasn't normally one for enjoying nature, since there wasn't much of it back where they lived that wasn't infested with bloodthirsty werewolves, but as they began their quiet stroll through Pretennon's garden, he was a bit surprised by how much he was enjoying stopping every couple of feet or so to sniff at a new flower or nibble at some delicious-looking grass. The frequent places he could lift his leg to mark were also quite lovely.

Birds began to start their evening rounds, their territorial songs reaching his ears as they ventured farther into the little maze.

"I'm surprised by how much space is back here, as well as the amount of different plants and shade trees. His gardeners are truly gifted," Seba said as he reached up to gently touch a blossoming pink flower a little ways above his head.

Ruoka tilted his head and watched as his master tried to lean closer to smell it, but couldn't quite manage to close the distance without risking snapping the fragile stem. Eventually, he relented and moved on, leaving Ruoka behind as he slowly circled the overhanging branch, flicking the tip of his tail from side to side in concentration.

Glancing ahead for a brief moment, he noticed that his master was about to walk out of view and quickly returned his attention back to the flower above his head.

Need to get it quickly.

Without anymore hesitation, Ruoka hunched down, then leaped as high as he could manage. Thankfully, it was plenty high enough. Actually, it was a tad too high, but he adjusted well and after smacking his fuzzy head on a higher branch, then falling a foot or so, he managed to snap his jaws around the stem of the flower before descending back down to the ground. The plant made a satisfying snapping sound as the stem was abruptly severed from its host.

I got it!

The second his paws hit the ground he was running off to find his master, his prize between his teeth. Seba was easy to locate after turning two corners and darting down a short row of bushes.

"There you are, Ruoka," Seba said as he leaned over from where he'd sat down on the edge of a large hammock.

With an extra burst of excitement from the attention, Ruoka darted forward and gladly accepted the ear scratches and pets that were waiting for him, then took a step away so that he could turn and nudge the flower against his master's knee.

I got you the flower you wanted.

Sebastian took the offered item with a wide smile, shaking his head as he lifted the slightly smooshed plant by its drooled-on stem. Lifting it to his nose, he took in a calm breath before gently setting the flower aside and giving Ruoka some more appreciative pats.

"Thank you for the flower. It's beautiful and smells great," he said, making Ruoka wiggle a little more in excitement before something caught his eye, immediately stealing his attention toward the trunk of one of the large trees holding up the hammock.

"Uh oh... you really don't have—"

Squirrel!

Ruoka was at the bottom of the tree in an instant, his tail swinging back and forth as he growled in anticipation. Circling its base several times, he pinpointed the tiny terrified mammal on a branch about fifteen feet above his head.

He tried to jump a few times, but of course, he couldn't quite reach it since this tree was quite a bit bigger than the one he'd gotten the flower from. His next thought was to try and climb the tree, but that, too, failed miserably when his claws continued to cut through the old bark instead of allowing him to ascend it.

I want the squirrel...

Looking back at his master, Ruoka was about to run over and nudge him with his cold nose so that he could possibly help him, but he hesitated when he noticed that Sebastian had drifted off to sleep beneath the mottled shade of the two large trees.

You shouldn't sleep out here. It's getting cold.

He was about to go wake his master, but then he heard it again. Glaring up at the fluffy gray squirrel directly above his head, Ruoka forgot his previous worry and circled the tree again.

I want it.

Licking his jowls, Ruoka focused on his thrumming heartbeat as he closed his eyes. They opened again after exactly one minute, leaving him kneeling on one knee in the soft grass as the chilly wind quickly began cooling his warm human skin.

Looking up at the severely confused squirrel, Ruoka let a confident smirk slip onto his lips as he stood up, then reached forward to touch the rough bark with his human hand.

I can climb now...

Licking his lips, Ruoka lifted his other hand to press against a higher spot on the tree, then carefully gripped it with his fingers and thumb. After feeling satisfied with his grip, he moved his right hand a little higher, too.

"Okay, climb and get the squirrel for master," he told himself reassuringly, honestly a little bit nervous.

He shook the nerves from his system quickly, though, and focused on his task. Gripping the bark tightly with his dirty fingernails, Ruoka tensed his muscles and hoisted himself upward! And then his fingers slipped, his nails chipping the bark just enough to stick a nasty splinter into his left pointer finger. He gave a startled yelp from the pain as he tried to land on his feet, but lost his balance immediately and fumbled backwards onto his backside.

"Hurts," he whined as he bit at his finger, trying to remove the painful splinter as tears began to run down his cheeks. Unfortunately, he was having zero luck.

He was actually beginning to do some real damage when gentle hands suddenly appeared and carefully grasped his injured one, drawing his attention upward and to the side. His eyes immediately widened and he hunched slightly, embarrassed, though he wasn't sure what for.

"It's okay, let me see?" Seba asked as he gently tugged his hand closer so that he could get a better look at it.

He expected his master to chastise him for his poor habit of chasing squirrels, especially since his current failure ended in quite a painful injury, but Sebastian simply remained silent as he turned his hand this way and that.

When he finally reached toward the injury with his right hand, Ruoka gave out another whine, making his master pause and look back up at him with a warm smile.

"It'll be okay. Just close you eyes for three seconds and I'll have it out, alright?"

Ruoka blinked away a few more tears, sniffled, then nodded and squeezed his eyes closed. Sebastian acted swiftly, but the abrupt pain as he pulled out the large splinter made Ruoka yelp and yank his hand away as his eyes jerked back open.

His master had clearly been taken by surprise, because he hadn't released his hand until he was already being pulled right across Ruoka's lap with a startled gasp of his own.

Ruoka quickly caught him before he could slide into the grass, but was surprised by his human self's own strength, because the momentum even pulled him forward a bit, eventually, unfortunately, making Sebastian land in the grass anyways. Except, Ruoka had been forced to join him and was now settled rather awkwardly overtop of his master.

He could hear Seba's breathing gradually pick up, making him quickly push himself up onto his elbows so that he could look down at his master.

Hmm?

Ruoka leaned a little closer and to the side, but Seba wouldn't look at him...

"Master?" he questioned, worried about the man's health as he began to smell the blood in his system breaking down. He was very stressed.

"I do believe that you should give him some space, pup," came Pretennon's voice, drawing Ruoka to sit up on Seba's waist as he looked up toward the roof of the house.

The man was sitting quite nonchalantly at the very top, his legs hanging over the edge as the large moon backlit his outline.

Space?

Looking back down at his master, Ruoka frowned and hesitantly removed himself. He backed up a few feet, too, before sitting in the grass, hoping that he was far enough away now. He did feel rather awkward about it, though. He was always near his master.

"I think, perhaps, that you two should head to the local clothing shops tomorrow and find your pup some articles that fit him?" Preto suggested as he carefully stood, then jumped from the edge of the roof, easily landing in the grass nearby.

...and I can't even climb a tree without injuring myself.

Ruoka thought that the man would immediately go to his heir, who was slowly pushing himself up into a sitting position, but instead, he turned toward him, making him quickly lower his head and avert his eyes.

Sure, he had been a bit rude to the man recently by ignoring his requests to discuss how he'd accidentally used some sort of mind control ability to regrettably force his master to attack Verander, but he did know his place.

So, when Pretennon knelt in front of him and settled one hand gently atop his mess of dark hair, Ruoka blinked in surprise, but didn't dare lift his gaze yet.

"I'm not mad at you, young one. I know that you didn't do it on purpose, but we will still need to talk about it later," Preto said, earning a nervous nod from Ruoka as he hunched a little more.

A few moments passed in tense silence before he felt Preto settle a finger beneath his jaw and guide it upward until their eyes could meet.

"It will take some time to get used to having a human form..." Preto said as he glanced toward his heir, then back to Ruoka. "For both of you. Take it one step at a time, and please remember to be mindful of your master's illness."

Ruoka quickly nodded his agreement, earning a couple pats before Preto stood back up and walked over to Sebastian, who was now back on his feet.

"You take care of yourself, too. I know that you removed his collar, but don't freeze up whenever something uncomfortable happens. He is still your werewolf. I need you to start taking control of the situations with him that make you uneasy. He will listen to you, right, Ruoka?" Preto asked as he turned and looked at him.

Ruoka quickly nodded again, but remained where he was in the grass. He felt like he should stay lower than his master at the moment, and his master. Honestly, he understood where Preto was coming from, too. Ever since his collar had been removed he'd caused his master more and more stress.

Maybe he should have never taken it off. I don't want master to feel unwell because of me.

Once he was sure Sebastian was fine on his feet, Preto dismissed him to head back to the house, then returned to sit in the grass in front of him.

"Ruoka, you deserve to have your own mind. You also deserve your freedom, though that is not something that I can give you," he said, making Ruoka hesitantly look up at him.

He had no words to respond with, but Preto didn't seem to expect any as he reached over and gently pet his soft hair a few times.

"You are going to become a wonderful person, but everything takes time. Go ahead back inside and get ready for bed. I know that Sebastian will be sending me thoughts asking about you if I hold you out for any decent length of time," Preto said as he offered him a hand up.

Ruoka hesitantly took it, then rose to his feet. The odd yet familiar sensation that he sometimes got while growing up nudged at the back of his mind as he straightened. It felt like he was missing something important, but could never quite figure out what to do about whatever it was.

A faint chuckle from Preto drew his eyes up to meet the man's, right before he was tugged forward into his arms for a gentle hug.

"It will all work out in the end. Don't fret about tomorrow, or the day after. Live for right now, and enjoy every minute that you can," he said as he held him a bit closer, then released him with one final pat to his head.

Within reason, of course. Now then, off you go, young one. Your master is waiting for you."

Confused, but somehow relieved, Ruoka gave the man an awkward partial bow, then hurried toward the house.

(Edited)