Weft of Power, Warp of Blood: A Tapestry of Desire

Chapter Six
Settling In

Once they were on even ground, Jasmine’s eyes widened again. The dog was bigger than Arielle. Its head was level with Jasmine’s ribcage, its body bear-like. Its black fur, now covered in dust, was long and silky straight. Falling rocks had scratched his nose. Jasmine held Arielle as high as she could away from the dog.

They trudged through the meadow and paddock. Jasmine scooped up her wand on the way to the house, holding it defensively. The dog walked ahead of them, sniffing occasionally. Arielle started a chant of, “Mama, he’s a really good dog, can we keep, him, please?” Jasmine hummed a noncommittal answer.

Upon reaching the house, Jasmine instructed, “Stay here, I’ll…get you some food.” The dog sat, ears and eyes alert, tail wagging while he panted. She watched for a moment, goodness, this dog was the biggest she’d ever seen. If it were to ever turn on Arielle… There was only one way to find out.

She went inside quickly looking for something to feed the immense dog. Arielle was already in the cold storage room, foraging, though looking as though she’d fall asleep any second, still asking to keep the beast. Quickly, leftover stew was decided on, and Jasmine lifted the small vat off the shelf, heated it with a touch of her wand and spooned a small bowlful out for Ari, one for herself and the rest into a large shallow dish. It would have been enough to feed the two of them for at least three more meals, but the dog looked big enough and hungry enough to consume it all. Leaving her own food steaming on the table, she told Arielle to eat, took the dog’s reward out and closed the door. Her wand was at the small of her back.

Standing on the top step, she looked sadly at the dog and mused,” I really don’t know of any other way to know if you’re safe, but if you are, you can stay. If you’re not…well, the unforgivable must become forgivable.” The dog watched the bowl carefully, totally still.

Careful not to spill any of the stew, and watching the dog while she did it, Jasmine set the bowl next to the stairs. The dog stood. Pulling her wand out, still watching, she stood in front of the bowl. The dog looked from the bowl to the woman and back again. She beckoned him closer. As he took the first eager step toward the food, she lifted her wand, just in case self defense was needed. Jasmine reached back and, with all her might, hit the dog across the muzzle and cheek.

It was like hitting a wall, pain shot up her arm and across her shoulder chest and back as she stumbled. The dog fell back two steps but recovered and crouched, looking up at her, head lowered as though asking why she had done that; he didn’t deserve it. She recovered and looked at the dog. A moment passed and she approached again, listening for a growl. There was the only sound of their breathing.

She knelt down next to him, stroking his head and ears, murmuring, “I’m so sorry, I had to, you know that, right? I had to know if you were ever going bite Ari.” The dog looked at her, seeming to understand. “If you’d come at me, after I did that to you, when you were so hungry and hurt and I had food here…” she trailed off, not wanting to tell him that she’d have killed him. “I had to know, I’m sorry. I promise it will never happen again.” The dog stood up and nudged her affectionately. She tumbled to sit in the dirt, laughing, he pushed his head further into her for more petting. She was happy to oblige, scrubbing at his ears for a moment before standing.

“You know what, dog?” she asked.

He only looked at her.

“You stink. Tonight, you’ll sleep in the barn, tomorrow while Arielle is at school, you get a bath.”

The dog wuffled and looked at the food, whining.

“Me too, you eat, I’ll eat and Arielle and I will try to come up with a name for you. There’s water over there,” she said, pointing to Joe, the old horse’s water trough. As the dog stuffed his face into the bowl to inhale the stew, Jasmine didn’t know if he heard and understood her words or not.

After a quiet but quick dinner and shower, Arielle, almost falling asleep in her food and again in the shower, was led to bed. As usual, Faust joined them for company. The ceiling of the pink bedroom was enchanted to look like the starry sky. As always, Arielle pointed out constellations while they cuddled.

“There is Orion, three stars make his belt. He has Ursa Major over his back. Canis Major is one of his dogs, he’s there, Mama, see? The brightest star is his head, that’s Sirius. That dog is really nice, Mama…”

Jasmine nodded and hummed absently, listening to the quiet, sleepy prattle. She was jarred back to attention when Ari said in sleepy excitement, “Mama, that’s what we should name our dog! Sirius! It means Dog in stars talk!”

Jasmine laughed at the unsubtle name, agreed that it would be appropriate and said that she’d ask the dog if that name was acceptable. Ari’s booboos were kissed and she was asleep before Jasmine left the room to wolf down her own dinner and shower.

Once she was clean and comfortable in a pretty white nightgown, Jasmine opened the door, looking for the dog. He was sprawled out next to the empty food bowl. She stood silhouetted in the doorway. The living room beyond her was lit by several candles and torches. The light shone through her white nightgown for a moment before she sat on a comfortable porch chair. Skeevers joined her, settling himself at her feet, purring. The puffskein’s fluffy yellow fur was enough to keep her toes warm.

“Do you like the name Sirius? Ari thinks it’d be perfect for you.”

The dog wuffled again, it sounded like a laugh.

Jasmine took it to mean that the dog didn’t mind the name. “I don’t think I thanked you properly for saving Arielle, Sirius, thank you so much. You’ve earned a place in our house as long as you want it.”

The dog settled his head back down onto his paws as Joe wandered from the barn to join them, chewing on the old jasmine vines that covered one side of the porch. Jasmine introduced Skeevers and Joe to Sirius; both the horse and the purring puffskein sidled up to sniff the dog, who lay still for the inspection. Satisfied, the animals returned to where they had been. The clabberts flashed their red pustule lights at the group a few times from their nearby trees. Jasmine wasn’t sure if that meant that they were signaling an alert that there was a stranger about or if they somehow understood the dog was welcome and they were not to panic if he approached.

Faust popped next to her, leaving his place in Arielle’s room with the phoenix’s unusual transportation method, simply disappearing and appearing elsewhere. The swan-sized bird settled next to her, examining her injured hands, before resting his cheek on them. His face was wet, obviously, he’d done the same for Ari while she slept. Slow tears, as thick as glycerin fell onto to the cuts and each healed quickly. He moved to her knees and waited for her to lift the hem of her nightgown to her thighs. Faust rested his head on each knee, covering each with healing tears. Jasmine whispered her thanks to him before introducing the dog to the bird, telling the beautiful red and gold phoenix about the dog’s heroism. Thoughtfully, Faust hopped over to Sirius to nuzzle tears onto his nose, showing his appreciation to the new hero.

Jasmine smiled then groaned, standing to prepare food for the animals’ breakfast and realizing that with all of the excitement, the rest of the animals hadn’t eaten dinner. It took a few minutes to get the meals prepared before returning to the porch.

“Sirius, you may spend the night in the barn if you wish.” Jasmine waited for a response, slowly, he stood and stretched, approached for a moment of petting and walked into the barn. A wave of her wand closed the door and set the nightly protection spell, then she went to bed.