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The cool light of dawn was slowly creeping over the hills, clear skies promising a beautiful, warm summer’s day. In normal circumstances, perhaps the inhabitants of Soinnet would be getting out of their beds, starting the day’s chores, baking bread, tending to animals, opening shops. But The Great War had put a stop to all that. The village was barely more than a pile of rubble, like so many other small hamlets on the Western front, and no one lived here now but the soldiers, officers and nurses who had set up their temporary headquarters in it. Tri tripped. With an ungraceful wobble he managed to stop himself from planting his face on the ground, but he still heard giggles from a couple of horses who were walking behind him. Tri huffed at them and glared, but they paid no mind. Having recovered his posture, Tri returned his attention to the road, so that he wouldn’t stumble over more rocks now that he barely had the strength to lift his paws any more. A few days had passed since the assignment. Aaron Fredericks had let Tri rest, sensing that the newcomer needed some time to process his first real mission, and instead focused on Ginger, who was his only active messenger at this time. Nell had also been kennel-bound due to her injured leg, but she was mending and would probably be able to run this afternoon’s mission alongside both Tri and Ginger. It was a relief to have three dogs back in the field. As much as Fredericks knew and trusted Ginger’s skill, giving the fighting division only one shot at sending vital communication was less than ideal. With three copies, chances were much greater that at least one would arrive safely, should the worst happen to any of the dogs while they were working. BOOM. Tri woke with a start. The cannons were at it again... He was used to the sound, but this was different. He shivered. It was damp and cold out today, and not even the straw bedding could keep him dry. Tri got up on unsteady paws, carefully stepped out of the kennel and looked around. His gaze darted from one end of the site to the other, and his breath was short and shallow. For some reason, it felt like something might jump on him at any moment. When he heard a rustle behind him he jumped and almost tripped on his own chain, but the source of the sound was only Ginger, stirring in his kennel. Tri sighed and slumped onto his tail. His sleep had been restless, filled with dreams of unpleasant things. They were getting close to their final destination, Tri could feel it. For three days now they had been walking along this long, straight road. But there had been a different look about the humans this morning. They were on edge and seemed to look over their shoulders constantly. As a result, Tri too kept his ears pricked and sniffed about, not sure for what, but perhaps a scent in the wind would reveal a clue. Aaron Fredericks was always walking calmly beside him in any case, which provided some comfort. The other soldiers in this group were very kind and always made a great fuss of Tri the dog. Sometimes Aaron Fredericks even had to shoo them away, to stop them from distracting his dog too much. Buut someone would always have a treat in handy, and Tri wasn’t about to turn down something like that, even if he knew Aaron Fredericks didn’t approve. |
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