*Andrew’s POV*

Dani leaned forward. I saw such great hope in his eyes, a hope I had the power to crush. I knew how important this was to him, and I actually didn’t mind helping, it was just... the timing could have been better. A lot better.

Dani shrugged apologetically. Well, it wasn’t solely my decision, really, Eliza had to go anywhere I went. I glanced at her, and saw she was already sold, eyes glittering with excitement. In fact, I suspected I’d hear about it at length if I said ‘no.’

I smiled. Eliza had some serious guts, wanting to go chasing after hell hounds in her free time. “Alright, you loon. But I insist we get to wash and get dressed first.”

Dani leapt up, excited. “Great! I’ll go get a few things. You know, offerings for the bitch and her sons, my staff and whatnot. I’ll be back in, oh, say, an hour?”

On the way out, Dani had turned to look at me, concerned. “Um, shall I knock, uh, loudly?” I wasn’t following.

“But we heard you just fine before-“ Eliza laughed.

“Don’t worry Dani, there won’t be any hanky-panky before you get back.” Dani just rolled his eyes, nodded, then turned on his heel and waved as he left.

I shut the door, a little irritated. I had just been cock-blocked by a mind-reader. Let Dani go without for three years and then find himself in the company of a beautiful, amazing woman bathing herself: see how he liked it! Asshole!

---

Several hours and only a few mere kisses later, I found myself leading Dani through the Forest just South of the Wall, as Eliza brought up the rear. Dani had started out in the lead, but then been too distracted by my thoughts to concentrate. Apparently I was worrying too ‘strongly’ about him, so he had agreed to follow as a close second. I couldn’t help it- Dani was a Healer, he only had a staff with him! Maybe if we weren't one a completely insane quest, and were actually after something reasonable I wouldn’t have worried so much.

Dani said he would let me know if he felt any energy shifts and I was veering too far off-course. Pfft! So far, I gathered I was doing all right, just following the enormous hound tracks and piles of scat, though none looked incredibly recent.

We came across a site where they had killed a large forest pig, and Dani stopped me, confused, staring at the bloody scraps of bones that remained. Eliza and I watched and waited as Dani squatted and hovered his hands over some of the pieces, muttering to himself.

Dani rejoined us and looked frustrated. “We may be off-base, I think we should be ready for something else, something unexpected.”

Eliza looked curious, but I was kind of annoyed. “Could you be any more cryptic?”

“Well, the prey was killed as a group effort, I sensed togetherness. Like many wild, hunting canines, they disemboweled it. But its death was not quick, it was allowed to suffer, perhaps on purpose. They might have even toyed with it while it was dying, I'm not sure. That is not at all like cŵn annwn. But the meal was shared equally, which is. I’m wondering if they could be something else entirely, shape-shifters in the guise of hell hounds?” Great. Maybe gytrash after all? Though I’d never heard of a group of gytrash, and they were all supposed to have burning eyes, it was a thought. Some gytrash were supposed to be benevolent…

Eliza looked thoughtful. “Well, if they’re eating, than at least we know they’re not ghosts, right?”

Dani brightened. “True! I hadn’t thought of that.” Neither had I! Gods, I was such a lucky man! I couldn’t wait to get Eliza back to our shelter and cover her body with kisses, damn, especially her tits, as I showered her with complim- *ahem* “-Andrew, lead on, trail’s getting cold and all that.” Hmph.

---

About an hour later, Dani slowed me with a touch to my arm. “Here, they grew lazy. They slowed down considerably, decided to relax. Proceed with great caution, my friend.”

Dani was right, as the stool became much more frequent, and soon we came across a pile that was still giving off a faint heat. Eliza looked far too enthusiastic, and Dani looked distant for a moment as we squatted over the droppings.

When Dani seemed to return to himself, he looked at us both very earnestly. “I know exactly where they are, I will lead from here. They are resting calmly, this is ideal. When we approach, you must not draw your weapons. Do not even place your hands upon your hilts, even if they are barghests, please! There is a chance we may part in peace and understanding, even if the bitch has no desire to be a Conjurer’s companion, but only if they sense no hostility. Let me do the talking unless they address you. Deal?” Both of us nodded grimly and fell in line behind Dani. I decided it was wisest for Eliza to continue to bring up the rear, so I wouldn’t get distracted by her ass.

Despite the somberness of the occasion, Dani let out a tiny snicker. He let me catch up with him and said quietly. “She’s having the same problem. She really likes your new pants, by the way, Andrew.” I was glad it wasn’t a full moon out, as I must have turned scarlet.

---

“Very soon, she knows we’re here,” was all the warning we got from Dani before walking into a peaceful looking grove. Shit- she knew? She led us there? I had read a fair amount about hell hounds, spoken briefly with a very few, and killed quite a lot more, but I didn’t really know a lot about their intelligence-

The hairs on my skin abruptly began to stand on end. I was not prone to extreme terror, but I felt a deep-seated, primal dread try and take hold, and I knew we had found the right place. My heart started to hammer a little faster, even though I saw nothing out of the ordinary, smelled nothing out of the ordinary. I forced my hands to stay at my sides, despite the hard knot of fear gnawing in my abdomen, and kept an eye on Dani as we walked forward. Surely, she was watching us.

We stood in the center of the grove for several minutes, and nothing changed. The uncomfortable feeling of anxiety didn’t dissipate, instead becoming almost physically painful. I noticed Dani had the ghost of a smile, which I thought was odd. Then my stomach lurched horribly when I saw them padding almost silently from the tree-line. These were definitely no cŵn annwn.

Notes

uh-oh. not cŵn annwn. :o( this may not go well.

on a totally unrelated side-note: i am pissed. i recommended a band, because i like to put out the word for new(er) music, and then recently, their singer tweeted something slamming plus-sized women. which sucks on it's own, but is even more ironic, coming from a plus-sized dude (the singer- haha!). so fuck that band, i'm about to go through and remove all my previous recommends of them. yuck. i should have been a little suspicious at their uninventive lyrics.

so- are you in a band? pay the fuck attention to what you say. those dicks just lost out on me going to their shows and promoting their shit.

fuck you, you bigots.