Word Count: 1026Leji was anxious, the feeling bubbling in the pit of his stomach. He hated feeling like this, but the wind was somehow wrong and he didn't want to stay here anymore. He could feel the panic rising in his throat and he shook his head one, two, three times. He wanted to just run, but he knew he had to wait for the rest of the pack to move on.
He couldn't just run off. He was the pack's only guide beyond Aeolus, who acted as the anchor for all the guiding winds. He huffed, gulping back the breaths that got stuck in his throat, trying to gulp back the fear with it.
It didn't quite work, but he felt feathers brush against him and talons his his shoulder. She slight pinprick of pain was grounding, but the panic only barely faded. It was still high in him, and he couldn't quite shake it.
"Leji," came a slightly chirpy voice. He shook his head again, trying to force the air into his lungs. The bird spoke again. "Breathe darling, that's in. Just breathe. It's okay," The avian's words were soft and caring. She didn't rush him, and for that, he was grateful. If she had appeared urgent, the panic would have risen one again.
Suddenly, Leji breathed in, gulping back the air as if it were water. He wanted to snarl, but the breeze ruffled his fur softly, almost as if his mother was there ruffling his fur and murmuring softly to him. It took him a moment longer to regain a normal inhale-exhale. It took a moment, but he heard Alafia count.
"Inhale, one, two, three. Hold, one, two, three. Exhale, one, two, three," She counted for him. He followed her instructions, breathing with her as she did so as well. "Good job, you're doing so well, darling," the bird cooed softly. Alafia fluttered down to the ground before her bonded.
Leji had regulated his breathing now, and he looked far less panicky, though she could still see the wild look in Leji's eyes. He still hadn't spoken at this point. It took a moment longer before Alafia started speaking again. "Phii'nyx says we'll be moving again soon, in a few hours. Aeolus decided this morning and had Phii come tell all the Ouisa to spread the word among the pack," She has started with.
She could see Leji's shoulders suddlenly slump, tension draining from him. "Good," He practically choked out. "That's really good," he nodded once to emphasize the point at the end, marking his third affirmation. Alafia gave a small chirp-chirp-chirp, repeating the three back at him.
"We'll be mobilizing in an hour or so, if you want to prepare to move?" Alafia suggested. The male dog didn't have much to prepare tho. He was always ready to move, the dangers of staying in one place too long made his fur stand on end and his stomach roll in terror. He was glad the longest the pack stayed in one place was a few days, or maybe a couple of weeks at most.
The week-long stays were torture though, and he hated them. Alafia kept him calm, though, and he huffed softly under his breath, quickly following it with two more as he steeled himself. "I'm already ready, he said after a moment. Alafia gave another small series of chirps, and motioned at him.
"Lay down, and we'll see if we can get you calmer," she murmured. Maleleji complied, sliding his body to the ground. He shook softly, but Alafia moved in closer to him. She brushed her right wing across his nose.
"C'mon, count them," she requested softly. And so he did, counting the flight feathers along her right wing before moving to the secondary feathers. He counted easily across the rows of feathers, grouping them into threes. He nosed along her wing after a moment, done with counting that wing. He moved along to then count along her left wing, noting the subtle differences in how the feathers fell.
He counted the feathers of her tail last, though it was the fastest. There were only six, and barely touched her then. He took a bit longer to count the bands on each of the six feathers.
There were nine on each of her tail feathers, and he counted them in groups of three, though they weren't quite grouped out he counted them. She waiting patiently for him to finish counting. He gave a soft sigh once he finished counting, the tension nearly completely gone.
She couldn't help him completely, the splotched dog would always have an underlying feath lodged in his chest. Alafia didn't mind so much, of course. She would always be there for her bonded, until death tugged them apart. She wouldn't let that happen any time soon, of course.
Alafia gave a small hum, shaking out her feathers as soon as Leji finished checking her after. Some of her feathers had the cool wet substance from Leji's nose, but she resolved to let it dry on it's own.
The pair wasn't quite sure how much time had passed since Alafia had recieved the news and when the counting had concluded. Leji muttered to himself for a moment, before standing. "We should probably head to the group," He suggested, the wind still a gentle breeze against his back.
Leji was still as eager to leave as he was earlier, but he was a lot calmer than before. He felt peace wash over him and he waited for a moment for Alafia to flap her wings and settle on his shoulders. He hummed as he walked, keeping a beat of one-two-three as he did so. Alafia, on his shoulder, gave a small chuckle before chiming in with a few chirps of her own.
She was content, the crisis had been averted and they would be able to move forward from here. The bird was quite pleased, sharp eyes watch the horizon for the rest of the pack. As soon as they reached the pack, they would leave - off to their next temporary destination.