The coach rolled into Labbat a few hours later. Novek had napped briefly — while cluttered, it was still comfy inside the coach, and he took sleep when he could find it. The kit napped as well, thankfully, after devouring all the scrav meat in reach. Like all young kits, it really only had two modes — sleeping and eating. Novek could relate, having been one himself.

  Labbat was a small town, nothing special, maybe a few thousand people. Novek had been through here a few times, but his type of work was mostly found elsewhere these days. Human towns tended to rely on militia, and those were competition for him most of the time. He was more likely to end up fighting against a local militia than to have one employ him. So he tended to keep his distance; grudges, and all that.

  Besides, he worked with Ber a lot, which made him unpopular around some predominantly Human forces. So he tended to land mostly mixed-race jobs, which then meant he was less likely to get all-Human work; it was a cycle. He was probably safe from being recognized, as Labbat was just a bit too close to the southern rifts than most Ber were comfortable with. The wilds had a marked boundary just to the northwest; a visible curve could be seen where average Ber became sensitive to the Laster rift.

  Like most towns in the area, Labbat didn't have any walls or palisades of note — the Human occupation of the area was still somewhat recent, so most construction was still of the temporary, or at least interim, variety. Older Human lands would commonly have complex stone works — walls, castles, and so forth. Novek was passingly familiar with that style of construction; he'd spent a number of years sieging a few of them.

  The coach driver — sorry, he'd been corrected, — coach master, Ellie, was clearly known here. She just waved at the two guards at the post and drove on through the gate. It was mostly the honor system, apparently. Not that the gate would do much, at most it'd stop carts on the road, anyone else could just walk around and enter a smaller alleyway unimpeded. That suited Novek just fine.

  Once past the gate, the roughly circular market wasn't far. It was barely a hundred meters in length, though the stalls, wagons, and such in the central area were still fairly dense. More permanent buildings ringed the area — the usual suspects: baker, ferrier and blacksmith, tailor and a barbershop. Novek considered a trip to the barber — his fur could get matted and uncomfortable over time — but decided against it with the kit to watch. There'd be time for that later.

  After pulling up near a smallish warehouse with adjoining tables, the coach master jumped down from the bench, tied the horses to a hitch in a shaded section, and then walked inside the small office.

  Two burly men came out a few minutes later and set up a straw-covered pallet to unload the meat onto. The wooden slats had holes packed with crushed ice. That tracked — with the amount of meat they had to unload, any buyer was going to want it refrigerated, or at least kept cool. It seemed Ellie knew her business.

  Tanner hopped down at this point, and came to the side of the coach. “I need to go and pick up some things for the return trip, and an apology for my wife. Ellie would like you to stay here and keep an eye on things. If the kit is calm enough, outside would be best, to discourage unwanted attention. Anything I can pick up for you from the market?”

  “Sure, I think it's asleep enough to not cause a problem. I'll start unloading what's inside, to keep disruptions down. As for the market, could you pick me up a spare canteen or waterskin, and maybe some small, unpitted fruits? And maybe something better to wrap some of this meat in.”

  “Sure, I can do that. Also, you should consider a name while you wait. A man traveling with a young unnamed Ber is going to attract the wrong kinds of attention from people who get the wrong idea.”

  “That… is a good point. I didn't have a chance to ask for a name, and I don't think they could have told me if I had.”

  “Sounds rough. Well, clearly you care, so I won't doubt your intentions. But it's obvious you're new to this sort of thing. Let me pick up a couple items for you that might help — on me. Brin to Brin — I've got pups of my own.”

  “Sure. I'd appreciate it. Thank you.” Novek was honestly touched at the thoughtfulness. It was only just dawning on him that he had no idea how to actually raise a kit properly. His own upbringing was… non-standard.

  Tanner stepped away, and vanished into the press of the market. It was midday now, and things were bustling.

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  Ellie came out a few minutes later, flanked by two younger human girls. After a few words from Ellie, both of them ran off into the market, in different directions.

  She walked over and stood next to the door of the coach, which was more of a half door, now that Novek had folded the top half down and outwards.

  “Okay, the shippers have agreed to take anything we don't otherwise sell off of our hands, so we can unload everything. Those two,” she indicated the girls, “are going to bring some likely buyers to us. Let's close that door back up and keep the kit inside and out of sight. We don't need any more complications.”

  “Gotcha.”

  “Let's start unloading the interior, if you don't mind helping, then we can let the beefcake unload the boot.” She'd nodded to the two burly yardmen, who were idly chatting out by the street.

  Novek got to helping unload. Or, well, given that he had two thirds of a meter on Ellie, it was more than she helped unload. He didn't mind, the work was easy. Once they'd finished the interior, the yardmen handled emptying the damaged trunk boot, which garnered an eye raise by one of them. They finished the work within a few minutes, and put a weighted tarp over it to keep the flies off.

  Then it was time to wait for the buyers.

  It wasn't long before the interested parties started showing up. Novek stood to the side, not paying that much attention to the negotiations, instead focusing on watching for threats. Which did include watching the posture and body language of those performing negotiations. A few were clearly just curious as to the cargo, and obviously had no intention of purchasing. Ellie spotted them as easily as Novek did, so not much time was wasted.

  At some point the kit started scratching at the coach door. Novek hoped it wasn't time to scratch in the dirt yet — there was nowhere to do that surreptitiously here. But no, the kit seemed only to be interested in making sure that Novek was nearby. He'd opened the door and the kit had immediately calmed down. He slid open the slat in the upper door that would serve as a thin window, and took a moment to craft a small platform for the kit to sit on and watch him, and vice versa.

  “Just stay there for now, where I can see you. Okay?” Novek still had no idea if the kit could understand him.

  After returning to his job as visible muscle, he noticed the bright green eyes peek out every so often while scanning the area.

  It didn't take long for the sales to complete. This was scrav meat, after all, and fresh — if some of it was strangely cooked. Who did that? Were they trying to preserve it for transport? Not his business.

  Once the last of the negotiations had finished, Ellie came back over and gave a quick summary.

  “Okay, everything is spoken for, so the warehouse won't be involved except unloading, pallet, and money changing fees. We're done here as soon as Tanner gets back, and we get paid.”

  Which served as an effective summons for Tanner, who emerged from the masses and came over a few minutes later.

  “Okay, I think I got everything. More salve, bandages, the walking stick — it's harder to find a meter and a half walking stick than you'd think, by the way. Also, this small pack is yours, Novek. It's got pouches for the meat, and I put the fruit in side pocket. There are a few things in the bottom for the kit, as well. Pick a name yet?”

  He had, actually. “Siya. That's all it does other than sleep and eat.”

  “Sounds Brin. That might help avoid any questions. I know that some cats change color entirely as they age. Even if you're not sure of the sex, I'd pick one for now.”

  “Okay, he, then. I'm not even sure if that's a meaningful distinction with this kind of Ber.”

  “Yeah, don't say that, either. Listen for a moment. Siya's a kit. Not uplifted yet, stick with ‘see’ around others until they evidence observable intelligence or speak. You know this, you're an uplift. Be smart about it. Forget it's a Ber if you can, until it comes second nature.”

  “You sound as if you have some experience with this.”

  “I'm from the packlands, myself. You wouldn't be the first Brin who'd run out of money and stolen their uplift pup back and made a run for it, before someone else paid the fee to claim it.”

  “That's not it.”

  “Obviously not — I can clearly see it's a Ber, or maybe Ber'Duun? But that story will bring you sympathy, and thus far less trouble. Stick with it until you can't.”

  “I'm not sure yet, myself. Vodat can't speak, even awakened. No vocal cords, and they don't typically sign. They're reclusive and can naturally communicate mind to mind with their… pack. The… adult, was obviously awakened, but I'm not sure if it was the parent. I'm going to assume Siya will Awaken though. We'll just have to work on language later.”

  Ellie looked towards the small office, where someone was standing in the doorway expectantly. “Okay folks, let's get ready to get back on the road.” She walked over, and Novek could see two sizable pouches change hands.

  Novek climbed back into the coach, while Tanner got back up on the driver's bench.

  A minute later, Ellie walked back to the coach door, pulled a floor mat aside, and unlocked a small vault in the floor. She glanced at Novek, then leaned and placed the pouches filled near to bursting with various markers and weights of metal inside, closed the vault, locked it, and put the mat back in place.

  Novek wondered why the multiple currencies when they'd had a money changer. Ah, of course, that would make it easier to spend with either Human or Ber'Duun — and clearly they travelled widely. Novek always enjoyed dealing with competent people.

  A few minutes later and they were back on the road, though they'd be taking a quick detour to the north to drop Tanner off. He spent the next quarter-hour practicing his apology to his wife, with Ellie enthusiastically taking to her role as stand-in for an upset Bettany.