[Child of the 7th Age]

Hawthorne knelt down beside Huan, and gently stroked his head, as she took a closer look at the place where Tevildo's claws had managed to connect with his nose. Finding a small cut that was beginning to bleed, she quickly led Huan back towards the kitchen hoping to cleanse the wound and find a salve to put on it. As she led the dog down the hallway, she muttered a few words of consolation, partially directed to herself and partially for Huan's benefit, "That nasty cat! I can't believe he attacked you like that! You poor thing. They'd best keep an animal like that out of the way with the handfasting and party getting under way!" Feeling a little guilty for ignoring her hound earlier, she noted, "And I didn't even feed you. You must be starved!"

Finding her way to the kitchens, Hawthorne tended to Huan's battle wounds and then detoured to the cutting board where there was a large steak bone with plenty of thick, juicy meat hanging off of it, a prize that Cook had set over to one side. Hawthorne picked up the bone and led Huan out to where he could sit on a large mat in front of the hearthfire.

Wagging his tale in glee, Huan came forward to his mistress, licked her hand appreciatively, and deftly relieved her of the steakbone. Then he settled down on the mat to gnaw at this prize and enjoy the warmth of the fire. Hawthorne could tell that Huan was feeling good about himself. His tail thumped contentedly against the floor as he surveyed the room. In fact, studying him more closely, she could almost swear that he was laughing at something.....